§ Mr. BurstowTo ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what estimate he has made of the cost to the NHS of treating and managing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in each of the last five years; [146213]
(2) how many finished consultant episodes there have been for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease for (a) England, (b) each NHS region and (c) each strategic health authority in each year since 1996, broken down by age. [146215]
§ Dr. LadymanThe Department of Health does not have precise estimates of the cost of treating respiratory disease. However it was recently estimated that respiratory disease accounts for approximately 6 per cent. of hospital expenditure, 13 per cent. of primary care expenditure and 12 per cent. of pharmaceutical expenditure.
Details of the Primary Diagnosis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease count of Finished Consultant Episodes by region and strategic health authority of treatment and age grouping in national health service hospitals in England from 1996–97 to 2002–03, have been placed in the Library.