HC Deb 30 October 2002 vol 391 cc831-2W
Mr. David Laws

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his estimate is of the number of people who die prematurely in the UK each year(a) while waiting for NHS treatment and (b) as a consequence of negligent treatment within the NHS; and if he will make a statement. [76292]

Mr. Hutton

The Department does not collect statistics on the number of people who have died while on the waiting list for treatment. Data are collected on how many patients are removed from the waiting list without being treated but these are not broken down into specific categories.

Data on the number of patients who die prematurely as a result of negligent treatment in the National Health Service are not collected.