Previous Section Index Home Page

19 Nov 2007 : Column 615W—continued


19 Nov 2007 : Column 616W

Mr. Bradshaw: Allocations to primary care trusts provide them with funding to deliver all local and national priorities. The cost of delivering the maximum 18 week general practitioners referral to treatment waiting target by December 2008 will depend on local decisions on how to implement this and other priorities.

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the per capita funding of each NHS trust in England was in 2006-07; and if he will make a statement. [164567]

Mr. Bradshaw: Revenue allocations are made directly to primary care trusts (PCTs), not national health service trusts. A table showing the funds per capita for each PCT in England for 2006-07 is available in the Library. Revenue allocations to NHS organisations in Wales are a matter for the National Assembly for Wales.

Graham Stringer: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what he expects the underspend on the NHS to be in the North West region in the 2007-08 financial year. [165179]

Ann Keen: At quarter 1, 2007-08, the North West strategic health authority economy is forecasting a financial year end surplus of £170 million.

Orthopaedics: Waiting Lists

Mr. Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average waiting time was for an appointment with (a) a knee consultant and (b) a urologist for (i) patients of Wirral Hospital Trust, (ii) patients in Merseyside and (iii) nationally in the latest period for which figures are available. [164668]

Ann Keen [holding answer 15 November 2007]: The information requested has been set out in the following tables.

Average Median Time of Patients Still Waiting for a 1st Out-patient Appointment in the Trauma and Orthopaedic Specialty
Area Weeks

Wirral NHS Trust

3.01

North West

2.62

England

3.09

Notes: 1. The North West is the nearest region we can measure to the Merseyside region. 2. Trauma and orthopaedic surgeons carry out knee surgery. Source: Department of Health QM08 and QM08R.

Average Median Time of Patients Still Waiting for a 1st Outpatient Appointment in the Urology Specialty
Area Weeks

Wirral NHS Trust

2.97

North West

2.48

England

2.72

Note: The North West is the nearest region we can measure to the Merseyside region. Source: Department of Health QM08 and QM08R.

19 Nov 2007 : Column 617W

Mr. Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average waiting time was for (a) a knee operation and (b) a hysterectomy for (i) patients of Wirral hospital trust, (ii) patients in Merseyside and (iii) nationally in the latest period for which figures are available. [164669]


19 Nov 2007 : Column 618W

Ann Keen [holding answer 15 November 2007]: The information requested is supplied in the following table.

Wirral hospital NHS trust Cheshire and Merseyside strategic health authority of residence England
Operation description Median time waited (in days) Median time waited (in days) Median time waited (in days)

Knee operation

162

164

168

Hysterectomy

59

57

66

Note:
Data provided are for mean and median “time waited” (in days) rather than “waiting times” where the main operation was a knee operation or hysterectomy (see footnotes for definitions).
Source:
Hospital Episode Statistics (HES)
Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) can only provide counts for “time waited” for all finished admissions within a given period. It is important to note that HES “time waited” figures are different to published waiting list statistics which count those waiting for treatment on a specific date and how long they have been on the waiting list. This elapsed time does not include any wait for referral to a hospital consultant. The data provided are only for elective admissions into hospital for the selected operation from a waiting list or booked elective admissions. The attached results exclude planned elective admissions and unlike published waiting list statistics are not adjusted for self-deferrals (e.g. if a patient deferred an operation as they were on holiday) or periods of medical/social suspension (please see footnotes for definitions of elective admissions from a waiting list, elective booked admissions and planned elective admissions). Note that finished admissions do not represent the number of in-patients, as a person may have more than one admission within the year.
Operational Classification of Interventions and Procedures Version 4.2. (OPSC 4.2)
Knee Operation:
W40: Total Prosthetic replacement of knee joint using cement
W41: Total prosthetic replacement of knee joint not using cement
W42: Other total prosthetic replacement of knee joint
Hysterectomy:
Q07.1 Abdominal hysterocolpectomy and excision of periuterine tissue
Q07.2 Abdominal hysterectomy and excision of periuterine tissue
Q07.3 Abdominal hysterocolpectomy nec
Q07.4 Total abdominal hysterectomy nec
Q07.5 Subtotal abdominal hysterectomy
Q07.8 Other specified abdominal excision of uterus
Q07.9 Unspecified abdominal excision of uterus
Q08.1 Vaginal hysterocolpectomy and excision of periuterine tissue
Q08.2 Vaginal hysterectomy and excision of periuterine tissue NEC
Q08.3 Vaginal hysterocolpectomy nec
Q08.8 Other specified vaginal excision of uterus
Q08.9 Unspecified vaginal excision of uterus
R25.1 Caesarean hysterectomy
Data Quality
HES are compiled from data sent by over 300 national health service trusts and primary care trusts (PCTs) in England. The Department 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.
Elective admissions
An admission is elective if the patient has been waiting for treatment. There are three types of elective admissions. The above time waited data exclude planned elective admissions:
Elective admissions from a waiting list
Most elective admissions are from a waiting list, where the patient has been waiting for a hospital resource e.g. in this case a knee operation or hysterectomy.
Elective booked admissions
An increasing number of elective admissions are booked, where the patient was given a date at the time the decision to admit was made, determined mainly on the grounds of resource availability.
Planned elective admissions
A smaller group waits for clinical reasons, where the consultant has advised that the patient should return at an appropriate point when the body has had time for nature to take its course. For example, a patient whose broken leg was mended by means of a steel pin would return to hospital a few weeks later to have a pin removed. Or a cancer sufferer is invited for radiotherapy treatment in a sequence of measured doses, with necessary gaps between sessions for recovery and stabilisation.
Finished admission episodes
A finished admission episode is the first period of in-patient care under one consultant within one healthcare provider. Please note that admissions do not represent the number of in-patients, as a person may have more than one admission within the year.
Main Operation
The main operation is the first recorded operation in the HES data set and is usually the most resource intensive procedure performed during the episode. It is appropriate to use main operation when looking at admission details, eg. time waited, but the figures for “all operations count of episodes” give a more complete count of episodes with an operation.
Time Waited
Time waited statistics from HES are not the same as the published waiting list statistics. HES provides counts and time waited for all patients admitted to hospital within a given period whereas the published waiting list statistics count those waiting for treatment on a specific date and how long they have been on the waiting list. Also, HES calculates the time waited as the difference between the admission and decision to admit dates. Unlike published waiting list statistics, this is not adjusted for self-deferrals or periods of medical/social suspension.
Ungrossed Data
Figures have not been adjusted for shortfalls in data (i.e. the data are ungrossed).

19 Nov 2007 : Column 619W

Primary Care Trusts: Finance

Mr. Whittingdale: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much funding per capita was given to each primary care trust in England in 2006-07; and what the average level was of per capita funding for primary care trusts. [163088]

Mr. Bradshaw: A table showing the funds per capita for each primary care trust in England and the England average for 2006-07 is available in the Library.

Screening: Private Sector

Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of diagnostic scans in the NHS were carried out by private healthcare companies in the last year for which figures are available. [163403]

Mr. Bradshaw: The Department does not hold the requested data in this format.

The Department does collect data on the volume of some diagnostic scans carried out in the national health service. Data for the number of echocardiography, computer tomography (CT), DEXA scan, barium enema, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and non-obstetric ultrasound (NOU) carried out in the national health service between September 2006 and August 2007 are shown in the following table.

Diagnostic test Total diagnostic activity (this includes planned activity)

MRI

1,196,392

CT

2,305,584

NOU

3,920,621

Barium enema

166,986

DEXA Scan

224,467

Cardiology - echocardiography

774,033

Source: Department of Health Monthly Diagnostics

Through the Independent Sector Treatment Centres (ISTC) programme, which is centrally led by the Department's Commercial Directorate, over 372,000 diagnostic episodes have been delivered to NHS patients at the end of September 2007. The above figure includes diagnostic episodes delivered to NHS patients through operational Wave 1 and Phase 2 schemes and the MRI fast-track contract.


19 Nov 2007 : Column 620W

It is not possible to identify the volume of diagnostic scans carried out by private healthcare companies purchased locally by the NHS.

West Hertfordshire Acute Hospital Trust: Waiting Lists

Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many operations were cancelled at West Hertfordshire Acute Hospital Trust within (a) seven days and (b) 24 hours of the appointment time in each year since 1997. [164112]

Mr. Ivan Lewis: Information is not available in the format requested. However, the following table shows the number of last minute cancelled operations for non clinical reasons at West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust from 2001-02 to 2006-07 (which are the latest data available).

Number of last minute cancelled operations for non clinical reasons

2001-02

562

2002-03

244

2003-04

815

2004-05

666

2005-06

621

2006-07

929

Notes:
1. Data were collected at health authority level only prior to 2001-02. Trust level data were collected from 2001-02 onwards.
2. A last minute cancellation is one that occurs on the day the patient was due to arrive, after they have arrived in hospital or on the day of their operation.
3. Some common non-clinical reasons for cancellations by the hospital include: ward beds unavailable; surgeon unavailable; emergency case needing theatre; theatre list over-ran; equipment failure; admin error; anaesthetist unavailable; theatre staff unavailable; and critical care bed unavailable.
Source:
Department of Health dataset QMCO

West Herts NHS Hospital Trust: Consultants

Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many finished consultant episodes there were at West Herts NHS Hospital Trust (a) in each specialty and (b) in total in each year since 1996-97. [166085]

Mr. Ivan Lewis: The information requested can be found in the following tables.


19 Nov 2007 : Column 621W

19 Nov 2007 : Column 622W
Count of finished consultant episodes (FCE) for West Herts NHS Hospital Trust (RWG) by main speciality for years 2005-06 to 2000-01: NHS hospitals England
FCE
Main speciality code Main speciality 2005-06 2004-05 2003-04 2002-03 2001-02 2000-01

&

Unknown

*

16

97

1,243

100

General Surgery

9,697

9,900

9,668

9,195

8,838

9,023

101

Urology

4,502

4,532

4,658

4,481

4,264

4,180

110

Trauma & Orthopaedics

7,390

7,246

7,260

7,445

7,432

6,765

120

Ear, Nose & Throat (ENT)

1,236

1,090

1,064

918

1,246

1,229

130

Ophthalmology

2,074

1,841

1,977

1,173

1,274

1,692

140

Oral Surgery

613

706

800

627

521

962

141

Restorative dentistry (oral surgery)

*

143

Orthodontics

*

160

Plastic Surgery

8,018

7,712

7,912

7,178

6,679

6,624

170

Cardiothoracic Surgery

38

180

Accident & Emergency (A&E)

4,800

3,334

541

394

299

237

190

Anaesthetics

506

442

554

448

464

467

191

Pain Management

*

300

General Medicine

9,313

8,914

8,633

9,469

9,916

8,547

301

Gastroenterology

5,872

5,767

5,631

5,205

5,498

5,052

302

Endocrinology

129

200

282

389

676

1,007

303

Clinical Haematology

1,928

2,583

2,884

2,761

2,071

892

314

Rehabilitation

*

134

315

Palliative Medicine

331

351

355

400

343

320

Cardiology

3,691

3,308

2,073

1,416

1,490

1,706

330

Dermatology

252

551

564

675

850

911

340

Thoracic Medicine

1,714

1,225

1,362

1,305

1,324

1,461

360

Genitourinary Medicine

*

361

Nephrology

20

46

16

*

*

370

Medical Oncology

292

748

707

505

491

538

400

Neurology

17

17

15

20

23

35

410

Rheumatology

816

502

393

172

183

89

420

Paediatrics

5,430

4,998

5,293

4,973

0

2,405

430

Geriatric Medicine

7,313

7,501

6,819

5,930

4,751

4,995

501

Obstetrics

8,619

8,794

8,385

7,648

8,057

6,325

502

Gynaecology

4,379

4,487

4,616

4,699

5,085

5,495

700

Learning Disability (previously MH)

*

*

*

713

Psychotherapy

*

800

Clinical Oncology (previously Radiotherapy)

820

4,768

4,688

4,606

5,138

5,202

823

Haematology

181

1,149

830

Immunopathology

138

112

96

107

73

15

Total

89,579

91,662

87,245

82,118

77,321

78,761


Next Section Index Home Page