§ Mr. BarnesTo ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what rights stroke victims or their relatives have to insist on patients' treatment in specialist stroke units; [66837]
(2) if he will make a statement on national implementation plans for stroke care. [66839]
§ Mr. HuttonFollowing a stroke patients are entitled to expect that an appropriate service will be provided, but that service will not necessarily be within a specialist stroke unit. The organisation of health authorities services, including those for people who have had a stroke, and the manner in which they are delivered are matters for the health authority, taking account of the needs of the local population and the priorities set for the use of the available resources.
In the recent guidance which we issued on "Commissioning in the New NHS" in October 1998 the importance of care pathways was stressed. Our proposals for "Pathways" of care will link primary care, secondary care and social care where appropriate. We emphasised in this guidance that care pathways would be developed to cover a range of preventative diagnostic, palliative, rehabilitative and supporting caring components of an integrated programme of care. The care and treatments of patients with stroke provides an example of how care pathways can work in practice.
§ Mr. BarnesTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what (1) is his estimate of(a) the amount of money and (b) the percentage of the NHS budget spent annually over the last five years on stroke treatment and rehabilitation; [66838]
(2) how many stroke patients were treated in the NHS outside specialist stroke units in the last year for which figures are available; [66840]
(3) how many specialist stroke units there are and how many patients were treated in them in the last year for which figures are available; [66841]
(4) what is his estimate of the effectiveness of specialist stroke units. [66842]
§ Mr. HuttonThe information requested is not available. The organisation of health services, including services for people who have had a stroke, and the manner in which they are delivered are matters for the health authority, taking account of the needs of the local population and the priorities set for the use of the available resources.