§ Mr. HancockTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what was the total number of departmental personnel treated at NHS hospitals; how many operations were carried out on them; and what was the cost to his Department in each of the last five years. [65780]
§ Mr. Doug HendersonIn the case of Service personnel treated in MDHUs, the MOD pays the host NHS Trust for their treatment. The Department pays on the basis of the anticipated throughput of patients. These costs are adjusted at the end of each year in the light of the actual throughput. The number of patients treated in MDHUs and the cost of their treatment to date for each year since the first MDHU was opened is shown in the table. The available information does not differentiate between those patients admitted for surgical operations and those admitted for other treatments.
Year Inpatients Daycases Outpatients Total throughput Cost £ million 1995–96 813 878 5,189 6,880 1.934 1996–97 4,246 2,197 22,887 29,330 12.050 1997–98 4,457 2,571 28,558 35,586 8.622 1998–99 4,457 2,884 27,146 34,112 9.976 Service Personnel may also be treated in any other NHS hospital as an NHS patient. The DSCA does not have visibility or control over such referrals, which would be mostly for emergency or specialist treatment. The cost of such treatment is in general met by the Department of Health, as for all other NHS patients.