To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients have been treated in NHS hospitals for each year since 1979. [10910]
[holding answer 28 July 1997]: The information in the table shows numbers of finished consultant episodes. FCEs are not the same as the number of patients treated because a hospital spell can consist of more than one FCE, and patients discharged too early who are subsequently readmitted as emergencies count as another FCE. Furthermore, an FCE count cannot by itself serve as a valid measure of productivity since it is not standardised over time for any changes in the quality of treatment.
| Table: Number of general and acute cases in NHS hospitals in England for each year since 1979 | |||
| align="right">Thousands | |||
| Year | Ordinary admissions | Day cases | Total FCEs |
| 1979 | 4,529 | 570 | 5,099 |
| 1980 | 4,755 | 649 | 5,404 |
| 1981 | 4,875 | 690 | 5,565 |
| 1982 | 4,830 | 685 | 5,515 |
| 1983 | 5,113 | 787 | 5,900 |
| 1984 | 5,246 | 872 | 6,118 |
| 1985 | 5,385 | 938 | 6,323 |
| 1986 | 5,429 | 1,020 | 6,449 |
| 1987–88 | 5,608 | 861 | 6,469 |
| 1988–89 | 5,572 | 1,005 | 6,577 |
| 1989–90 | 5,677 | 1,152 | 6,829 |
| 1990–91 | 5,685 | 1,251 | 6,936 |
| 1991–92 | 5,913 | 1,535 | 7,448 |
| 1992–93 | 5,987 | 1,785 | 7,772 |
| 1993–94 | 6,127 | 2,080 | 8,207 |
| 1994–95 | 6,210 | 2,439 | 8,649 |
| 1995–96 | 6,396 | 2,813 | 9,209 |
Note: Prior to 1988–89 in-patient data were collected in terms of discharges and deaths rather than Finished Consultant Episodes. The figures above have been converted to FCEs using data from 1988–89, when data were collected on both bases.
Source:
SH3 1979 to 1987.
KP70 1987–88 onwards.