To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients were treated for strokes (a) by hospital, (b) in England and (c) in each health authority in 2002; and what their annual rates were. [108434]

The available information has been placed in the Library.Information on the annual survival rates of patients treated for strokes is not collected centrally.The national service framework (NSF) for older people, published in March 2001, requires all general hospitals that care for people with stroke to have by April 2004 a specialised stroke service, as described in the NSF stroke service model.Implementation of specialist stroke services is required in "Improvement Expansion and Reform", the Priorities and Planning Framework for 2003–06. This makes clear that implementation of the older people's NSF is a top priority, and that the 2004 milestone around specialist stroke services is a key target.