§ Mr. OatenTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what figures his Department has collated on the number of cases of Group B Streptococcus in each of the last five years. [153422]
§ Dr. LadymanFigures on the number of finished consultant episodes (FCEs) of Group B Streptococcus in each of the last five years is shown in the table.
FCEs 1998–99 3,208 1999–2000 4,057 2000–01 5,513 2001–02 5,822 2002–03 7,137 Notes:
1. An FCE is defined as a period of admitted patient care under one consultant within one healthcare provider. Please note that the figures do not represent the number of patients, as a person may have more than one episode of care within the year.
2. All Diagnosis count of Episodes—these figures represent a count of all FCEs where the diagnosis was mentioned in any of the 14 (seven prior to 2002–03) diagnosis fields in an HES record. A record is only included once in each count, even if a diagnosis is mentioned in more than one diagnosis field of the record.
1544W3. Figures are grossed for both coverage and missing/invalid clinical data. Except for 2001–02 and 2002–03, which are not yet adjusted for shortfalls.
4. Data Quality—Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) are compiled from data sent by over 300 NHS trusts and primary care trusts (PCTs) in England. The Department of Health liaise closely with these organisations to ensure that data quality is enhanced wherever possible. Inevitably, some shortcomings remain, but our goal is to minimise inaccuracies and bring about improvement over time.
Source:
Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), Department of Health.