§ Mr. BurnsTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many routine NHS patients were treated in English NHS hospitals in the last quarter of(a) 2001 and (b) 1997. [46708]
§ Mr. Hutton[holding answer 10 April 2002]: The number of elective admissions to National Health Service hospitals from October to December 1997 was 1,236,609. 'The figures are not yet available for 2001, but for the same period in 2000 there were 1,352,035 elective admissions.