§ Sandra GidleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list, by centre, the number of people accessing NHS walk-in centres each month since opening. [35862]
§ Mr. HuttonI apologise to the hon. Member for the delay in responding to this question. I refer the hon. Member to the reply that my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State gave my hon. Friend the Member for Blackpool, North and Fleetwood (Mrs. Humble) on 5 March 2002,Official Report, column 192W.
The 42 NHS walk-in centres are being piloted as a new initiative to offer convenient access to primary care services.
The Department commissioned an independent evaluation of all NHS walk-in centres. This has been led by Dr. Chris Salisbury at the University of Bristol. The national evaluation final report, including figures on the number of people accessing walk-in centres, is due for publication in the summer 2002.
Estimates show, however, that overall more than 1.3 million people have visited walk-in centres since opening.