§ Mr. HancockTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what was the total annual cost of operating Ministry of Defence hospital units in each of the last 10 years. [104414]
§ Mr. SpellarThe first Ministry of Defence Hospital Unit (MDHU) was opened on 1 April 1995. For the three financial years 1996–97, 1997–98, 1998–99 the total annual operating costs for MDHUs are as set out. These costs represent, in the main, pay and allowances for military personnel and support staff.
Year £ million 1996–97 16.936 1997–98 18.185 1998–99 18.500 Costs are not available for the year 1995–96.
§ Mr. HancockTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what was the(a) budgeted and (b) actual cost in each of the last two years, of running his Department's hospital unit in Germany; [104412]
280W(2) how many service personnel in Germany have been treated in facilities other than MOD medical services in each of the last two years; and what was the cost of this treatment. [104415]
§ Mr. SpellarFollowing the market testing of the health function in Germany, the provision of all secondary health care for both the Army and the RAF is provided under contract with five designated German provider hospitals. There are no MDHUs in Germany. The budget set aside to meet these costs was £3O.O28M (DM65.953m @ £=DM 2.1958) in 1997–98 and £23.853M (DM65.245m @ £=DM2.7353) in 1998–99. The number of cases treated in each of these years was 27,831 and 40,539 at a cost of £30.668M (DM67.341m) and £29.171M (DM79.791m) respectively.
§ Mr. HancockTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the expenditure was on Ministry of Defence hospital units in each of the last two years. [104417]
§ Mr. SpellarThe amounts paid to MDHU host NHS Trusts for the treatment of military personnel in each of the last two years are as follows. The sums shown are the net payment, taking into account the abatement of charges for the contribution of military clinical staff serving in the MDHU to the treatment of Service patients.
- 1997–98: £6.505 million
- 1998–99: £7.379 million
§ Mr. HancockTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many patients have been transferred from Ministry of Defence hospital units to the Royal Hospital Haslar in each of the last two years; for what reasons; and at what cost to his Department. [104409]
§ Mr. SpellarInformation is not routinely collected on tertiary transfers to the Royal Hospital Haslar. Any patients whose care might need to be transferred to another consultant outside a Ministry of Defence Hospital Unit would normally be referred to other local or regional NHS hospitals with the specialist units required.
§ Mr. HancockTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many service personnel are awaiting(a) initial hospital appointments and (b) consultant appointments at Ministry of Defence hospital units; how many of them have been waiting for more than six months; and what assessment he has made of the cost implications of delays. [104410]
§ Mr. SpellarI will write to the hon. Member and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.
§ Mr. HancockTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much has been paid annually to the NHS to cover NHS treatment in lieu of Ministry of Defence Hospital Unit treatment. [104831]
§ Mr. SpellarNil. Members of the Armed Forces are entitled to NHS hospital treatment on the same basis as civilians if appropriate military provision is not available. This understanding pre-dates the creation of MDHUs.