Hospital Admissions

Mr. Kilroy-Silk
asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many admissions  were made to National Health Service hospitals in the last year for which figures are available.

Sir George Young
Hospital in-patient activity is measured in discharges and deaths rather than admissions. In 1978 there were approximately 5,350,000 inpatient discharges and deaths from National Health Service hospitals in England.

Mr. Kilroy-Silk
asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many people were awaiting admission to hospital and how many of those were urgent cases at the latest available date; and what was the average length of wait for both categories.

Sir George Young
On 31 March 1979, 752,450 people were awaiting admission to National Health Service hospitals in England, of whom 52,950 were awaiting "urgent" admission. Average waiting times are not available.