HC Deb 15 April 2003 vol 404 c93W
Mr. Ruffley

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many NHS patients were treated in hospitals outside the United Kingdom but within the EU in(a) 2001 and (b) 2002, for (i) hip joint replacements, (ii) knee joint replacements, (iii) coronary artery bypass grafts and (iv) cardiac surgical procedures.[105858]

Mr. Hutton

No patients were treated abroad in 2001. In 2002, 191 patients were referred abroad for orthopaedic procedures, mainly major joint replacements. Overseas referrals for cardiac procedures will commence in 2003.