§ Mr. Nigel JonesTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will estimate the additional cost to the NHS of providing out of hours treatment following acceptance of the new GPs' contract. [134244]
§ Mr. HuttonThis is a matter for local decision and depending on how services are reconfigured. We are making available an extra £138 million from 2003–04 to 2005–06 to support these changes. These resources are in addition to the average of £6,000 released by each general practitioner who opts out of his/her responsibility for out-of-hours services.
§ Mr. BurstowTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of(a) adults, (b) children and (c) the total population are registered with a general practitioner in (i) England, (ii) each region and (iii) each strategic health authority. [133725]
§ Mr. HuttonAt 30 September 2002 (the latest published data), 51,522,391 people were recorded as registered with a general practitioner or provider of personal medical services. The table provides details by strategic health authority (SHA). It is not possible to express these figures accurately as a percentage of total population as the phenomenon of "list inflation" means that registered populations are typically larger than actual populations. This phenomenon arises where a patient moves his or her registration and for a transitional period may be registered on two lists. Similarly, an individual who dies or moves abroad may remain on a list for a time.