§ Mr. HepburnTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many general practitioners per head of population there were in(a) the Jarrow constituency, (b) South Tyneside, (c) Tyne and Wear, (d) the North East and (e) England in each year since 1997. [162917]
§ Mr. HuttonThe Department collects figures by primary care trust (PCT) only, not by constituency. The number of unrestricted principals and equivalents (UPE) per head of population in South Tyneside PCT and primary care group (PCG) since 1999 and in Tyne and Wear, the North East and England since 1997 are shown in the table.
1667W
§ Mrs. Curtis-ThomasTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of patients were offered a first appointment with a general practitioner within two working days in(a) Crosby and (b) England in each year since 1997; and if he will make a statement. [164360]
§ Miss Melanie JohnsonData on the availability of appointments to see a general practitioner has been collected since September 2001. Since then, there has been great progress in offering patients the opportunity to see a GP quickly and the overwhelming majority of patients (nationally 96 per cent. at January 2004) can now see a GP within two working days. Data for England, for South Sefton and Southport and Formby primary care trusts (PCTs) and for the former Sefton Health Authority (HA) are shown in the table.
Percentage of patients being offered an appointment with a GP within 48 hours England South Sefton PCT Southport and Formby PCT January 2004 96.4 90.0 100.0 March 2003 88.2 90.4 100.0 1 March 20021 74.6 78.0 2— September 20011 80.1 67.0 2— 1 Data collected between September 2001 and March 2002 are based on the percentage of practices, not patients and are not strictly comparable but are included here for completeness. 2 Sefton HA results cover both PCTs.