HC Deb 25 May 2004 vol 421 cc1595-6W
Mr. Wiggin

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many(a) English residents were referred for treatment in Welsh hospitals and (b) Welsh residents were referred for treatment in English hospitals in each year since 1999. [175535]

Mr. Hutton

Data are not collected centrally for English residents referred for treatment in Welsh hospitals. Available data on Welsh residents referred for treatment in hospitals in England are shown in the table.

Welsh residents in England, count of in-year admission episodes NHS hospitals, England, 1999–2000 to 2002–03
Number
1999–2000 41,508
2000–01 41,273
2001–02 40,626
2002–03 39,175

Notes:

Data was derived by selecting cases where the strategic health authority (SHA) of residence was given as Wales (that is a Welsh postcode).

In-year admissions

An in-year admission is the first period of in-patient care under one consultant within one healthcare provider, excluding admissions beginning before 1 April at the start of the data year. Periods of care on-going at the end of the data year (unfinished admission episodes) are included. Please note that admissions do not represent the number of in-patients, as a person may have more than one admission within the year.

Grossing

Figures are grossed for coverage, except for 2001–02 and 2002–03, which are not yet adjusted for shortfalls.

Strategic Health Authority Data Quality

These figures have been derived from the SHA of residence of the patient, which itself is derived from the postcode of the patient. SHA data were added to historic data-years in the HES database using 2002–03 boundaries, as a one-off exercise in 2004. There is some change in completeness of residence-based fields over time, where the majority of unknown values are due to missing postcodes on birth episodes. Users of time series analysis need to be aware of this issue in their interpretation of the data.

Data Quality

HES are compiled from data sent by over 300 NHS trusts and primary care trusts in England. The Department of Health liaises closely with these organisations to encourage submission of complete and valid data and seeks to minimise inaccuracies and the effect of missing and invalid data via HES processes. While this brings about improvement over time, some shortcomings remain.

Source:

Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), Department of Health.