To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of the patient base at Biggleswade and Steppingley hospitals is comprised of people originating outside Mid-Bedfordshire. [80476]

The information requested is not normally available centrally; however, I am informed by the health authority that at Biggleswade Hospital, of the 20 admissions over the past two months 10 have been for patients outside the Mid-Bedfordshire area. At Steppingley Hospital, 8 out of the 27 patients admitted within the last two months were from out of the Mid-Bedfordshire area.