To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many emergency readmissions there were in each quarter since the quarter ending June 2002; and what percentage of patients was readmitted as an emergency in each quarter. (118157)

Currently the best computations of readmission rates are those released by the National Centre for Health Outcomes Development (NCHOD). They publish their data on a website at www.nchod.nhs.uk. Presently there are three years data from 2001-02 to 2003-04 at primary care trust (PCT) level. There are plans to produce an eight-year series up to 2005-06 at PCT and trust level. Other analyses could be produced only at disproportionate cost.