HC Deb 27 April 2004 vol 420 cc962-3W
Brian Cotter

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many(a) residential care beds and (b) nursing beds have been lost since 1997 in (i) the south west region, (ii) the area served by the Avon, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire Strategic Health Authority and (iii) the area served by the Weston Primary Care Trust. [167527]

Ms Rosie Winterton

The number of residential and nursing places in the south west region and Avon, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire Strategic Health Authority is shown in the table as at 31 March for 1997 to 2001.

Figures for later years have been collected by the National Care Standards Commission, but comparable details broken by region are not available.

Information on the number of care home places in the area served by the Weston Primary Care Trust is not centrally available.

These improvements apply nationally and benefit the residents of Weston-super-Mare.

Mr. Andrew Turner

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the evidential basis is for his statement that about only 20 or 30 people in England are waiting more than nine months for an NHS procedure. [167244]

Mr. Hutton

[holding answer 22 April 2004]: The priorities and planning framework for 2003 to 2006 includes the target of achieving a maximum wait of nine months for all inpatient waiters by March 2004. The Department asked strategic health authorities for their estimate of the end-March position and it is this information that was used for the statement. The final figures will be published shortly in the chief executive's report.