§ Simon HughesTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many NHS beds were available in Greater London, broken down by national health service trust, in each year since 1997; and if he will make a statement. [179395]
§ Mr. HuttonThe national health service is treating patients in better more efficient ways, for example the proportion of finished admission episodes at London NHS providers classified as day cases (where patients are admitted to hospital for a planned surgical procedure, returning home on the same day) increased from 28.8 per cent. in 1997–98 to 31.8 per cent. in 2002–03. Over the same period the total number of finished admission episodes increase by 15.6 per cent. to 1,639,915.
We have also increased capacity outside of hospitals with the introduction of 10 NHS treatment centres in London. Treatment centres separate elective care from emergency care so that it is not disrupted and between April 2003 and May this year, 65,000 patients received treatment in this way.
To make healthcare more convenient for patients, the NHS is increasingly offering services in primary care or in outpatient departments, without the need for a hospital admission. With more staff, more facilities and new ways of working, more patients are being treated in primary care.
The information requested on NHS beds has been placed in the Library.