§ Mr. Simon HughesTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what instruction he has given to the chairs of health authorities and trusts in England on the use of extra money made available from(a) central Government, (b) efficiency savings and (c) other sources for patient care only. [16658]
§ Mr. MilburnDetails of the purposes to which the extra funds for the National Health Service announced in October 1997 are to be put are contained in Executive Letter (97)64, copies of which are available in the Library. This made it clear that the additional resources made available from central Government should be used to: help hospitals cope with medical emergencies during the winter months; reduce delays in discharging patients; reduce the need for people to be admitted to hospital in the first place by strengthening primary, community and social services; and begin to restrain the growth in waiting lists.