§ Mrs. Virginia BottomleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people live within two miles of(a) Farnham, (b) Milford and (c) Haslemere hospitals. [128502]
§ Mr. DenhamThe Office for National Statistics (ONS) centrally produce resident population data for health authorities and local authority districts.
However, they do not produce population data below these levels, which includes population by trusts. Currently, the only population data available below health authority and local authority districts are ward level data, which are based on the 1991 Census.
§ Mrs. Virginia BottomleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the commitments given by the West Surrey Health Authority Chief Executive and the Chief Executive of the Surrey Hampshire Borders Trust concerning the future of community beds at Farnham Hospital in the "Right Balance" plans published in May 1998. [128495]
§ Mr. DenhamIt is for local health authorities to decide on the configuration of services that best suit their local health economy's needs, based on the specialised knowledge they have of the local community.
573W
§ Mrs. Virginia BottomleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many NHS(a) state and (b) community in-patient hospital beds were available in (i) the South West Surrey constituency and (ii) the West Surrey health authority in May (1) 1997, (2) 1998, (3) 1999 and (4) 2000. [128504]
§ Mr. DenhamSouth West Surrey constituency approximates to West Surrey health authority in terms of geographical coverage so figures are given only for West Surrey health authority.
Figures are calculated by annual number of bed days per year divided by days in year. State beds are all beds, whereas community beds are those in community trusts.
Bed availability data are collected on a year-end basis; thus there is currently no published data for 1999–2000.
Average daily number of available beds for NHS trusts located in West Surrey health authority All trusts Community trusts 1996–97 2,635 356 1997–98 2,359 314 1998–99 2,477 819
§ Mrs. Virginia BottomleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients had been waiting for in-patient treatment, excluding day cases, for more than one year on 31 March(a) 1997, (b) 1998, (c) 1999 and (d) 2000 in West Surrey health authority. [128507]
§ Mr. DenhamThe table provides the total number of patients waiting for ordinary admissions for more than one year, excluding day cases, in West Surrey health authority.
Total number of patients 31 March 1997 426 31 March 1998 751 31 March 1999 675 31 March 2000 763