HC Deb 22 February 2000 vol 344 c901W
Mr. Swayne

To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if he will list the undertakers who were invited to tender for the contract for the removal of bodies out of hours at Milford-on-Sea Community Hospital; [106390]

(2) what is the price paid by Southampton University NHS Trust to undertakers for the removal of each cadaver under the existing out of hours contractual arrangements; [106392]

(3) if he will list the hospitals which share the same contract for out of hours removal of bodies at Milford-on-Sea Community Hospital. [106391]

Ms Stuart

The undertakers invited to tender for the contract for the removal of bodies out of hours for the Southampton and South West Hampshire Health Authority area were:

  • Beastons
  • J. Bevois and Son
  • Co-op Funeral Services
  • Diamond and Sons
  • B. Matthews
  • Simplicity Funerals

Southampton University Hospitals NHS Trust is forecasting payment of between £20,000 to £23,000 this year as part of their contracts with local undertakers. The price paid by Southampton University Hospitals NHS Trust for the removal of each cadaver under the existing out of hours contractual arrangements is not held centrally.

Milford-on-Sea Hospital shares the same contract for out of hours removal of bodies with Lymington Hospital, both managed by Southampton Community Health Services NHS Trust.

Table 1: Number of calls to NHS Direct sites, in thousands, since November
NHS Direct site November 1999 December 1999 20–26 December 27 December-2 January 3–9 January 10–16 January 17–23 January
Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire 7 2 3 2 2 2
East Midlands 11 22 6 10 6 6 5
East Yorkshire 4 8 2 3 2 2 1
Essex 8 16 4 6 4 4 3
Hampshire 6 11 3 4 3 3 3
Kent, Surrey and Sussex 1 2 5 2 2 1
Lancashire 7 14 4 6 4 4 3
Manchester 10 19 4 7 5 5 4
North East 14 18 5 7 6 5 4
South East London 5 10 2 3 3 3 2
South West London 1 2 4 2 2 2
South Yorkshire/South Humber 4 1 2 1 1 1
Thames Valley 7 10 3 3 3 3 2
West Country 11 22 6 8 7 7 6
West London 15 25 7 10 7 6 5
West Midlands 10 20 6 8 5 5 4
West Yorkshire 11 24 5 9 6 6 5
England 120 234 65 97 68 66 55
1 Sites unable to provide validated statistics for December.

Notes:

1. Kent, Surrey and Sussex; South West London; and South Yorkshire/South Humberside became operational at third wave at the end of November, while Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire became operational mid-November. These sites did not produce November activity statistics.

2. Prior to December 1999 this information was collected only on a monthly basis.

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