To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what was, for hospital and community health services for elderly people in Northern Ireland, the number of geriatric in-patient cases, geriatric out-patient attendances, geriatric day patient attendances together with the expenditure after allowing for general inflation, expenditure, after allowing for hospital and community health service inflation and the number of district nursing staff and average length of stay for geriatric in-patients in each year from 1976–77.
The health and social services boards' accounts are not maintained at present in such a way as would enable the expenditure on geriatric services to be identified separately. The statistical information requested is as follows:
| In-patient cases | Out-patient attendances | Day patient attendances | Average length of stay | Number of district nurses | |
| 1984 | 5,441 | 4,279 | 18,961 | 157·6 | 640 |
| 1985 | 5,536 | 3,739 | 21,225 | 152·7 | 623 |
| 1986 | 6,580 | 4,223 | 28,109 | 148·3 | 621 |
| 1 Not available | |||||