HC Deb 28 January 2002 vol 379 cc153-4W
Dr. Fox

To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what estimates he has made of the cost of treating patients sent abroad for treatment until the end of March 2002; [29717]

(2) if he will publish the estimated costs of the treatment of patients who were sent on 18 January to receive treatment (a) at La Louvière hospital in France and (b) in a private sector hospital in England. [29716]

Dr. Evan Harris

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will publish the total cost to each health authority involved of the package of care for(a) cataract and (b) joint replacement operations per patient treated in (i) the UK under the NHS, (ii) Lille and paid for by the NHS and (iii) private hospitals and paid for by the NHS. [29674]

Mr. Laws

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will estimate the total cost of treating NHS patients who were sent for treatment in French hospitals on 18 January broken down by (a) treatment costs paid to French hospitals, (b) other treatment costs, (c) travel costs, (d) non-clinical care costs and (e) other costs; if he will estimate the difference between the total costs of this form of treatment and the standard NHS costs of treatment; and if he will make a statement. [30021]

Mr. Hutton

[holding answer 23 and 24 January 2002]: The precise costs of the national health service funded operations purchased in Lille are commercially confidential. The same approach is taken in relation to NHS funded operations in the private sector in the United Kingdom, where we anonymise data before releasing it. Clearly this would be impossible in the present case.

Direct comparisons of the costs of overseas treatment and NHS costs are not straightforward; for example, prices agreed so far for hip and knee replacements include intensive rehabilitation which would not be included in standard NHS reference costs. In general the prices agreed so far for treatment overseas are in excess of NHS average reference costs but comparable to those in the UK private sector. However, we would expect better prices if and when we commit to larger volumes of patients travelling overseas to individual hospitals.

£1.1 million to fund treatment costs has been made available to the three test bed sites in south-east England who are developing processes for sending patients overseas. Depending on the case mix, this should fund 200 to 300 procedures.

The primary care group will have to take account for how it spends its share of the public money that it receives as well as how it secures the highest possible standards of care and good value for money.