§ Tim LoughtonTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many(a) CT and (b) MRI scanners are in working use per head of population in each health authority area in England and Wales. [24664]
§ Yvette Cooper[holding answer 8 January 2002]There are currently approximately 5.7 CT scanners and 3.7 MRI scanners per million head of population in England. By the time that central programmes are complete in 2004 these figures will have risen to approximately 7.1 and 5.2 per million respectively.
To provide these figures for every health authority in England would require disproportionate effort. However a breakdown by region has been provided in the tables.
Information regarding CT and MRI provision in Wales is a matter for the National Assembly for Wales.
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CT scanners1 Region CT scanners per region (December 2001) Population CT scanners per million population (2001) Post programme CT scanners per region—2003 CT scanners per million—post programmes 2003 CT scanners per million—post programmes 2004 Eastern 24 5,377,000 4.46 28 5.21 — London 58 7,187,300 8.07 58 8.07 — North West 45 6,604,000 6.81 45 6.81 — Northern and Yorkshire 41 6,339,000 6.47 43 6.78 — South East 41 8,619,600 4.76 47 5.45 — South West 21 4,901,300 4.28 27 5.51 — Trent 27 5,133,800 5.26 29 5.65 — West Midlands 29 5,332,500 5.44 30 5.63 — Total 286 49,494,500 25.69 307 26.14 37.14 1 This table shows a regional breakdown of CT installed in the NHS to date and on completion of central equipment programmes 2 Average 3 Projected average Note:
For both CT and MRI London appears to have significantly larger numbers of machines per head of population than other regions. However, these figures are based on resident population and do not take account of the patients referred into London from elsewhere.