Health Services: Young People
Health

Diane Abbott (Hackney North and Stoke Newington, Labour)

To ask the Secretary of State for Health for what reasons the number of people under the age of 18 being treated by NHS hospitals rose between 2010 and 2011.

Anne Milton (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Public Health), Health; Guildford, Conservative)

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave her on 20 December 2011, Hansard, columns 1145-47W.

We are advised that the overall increases in finished admission episodes (FAE) and accident and emergency (A&E) attendances for people under the age of 18 are not statistically significant. However, in both cases the major identifiable causes of increase are respiratory conditions. FAE for respiratory disease increased from 124,558 in the period January to August 2010 to 134,339 in the same period in 2011, an increase of 9,781 FAE (51% of the total increase in FAE). A&E attendances for respiratory conditions increased from 77,706 in the period January to August 2010 to 90,506 in the same period in 2011, an increase of 12,800 A&E attendances (10% of total increase in A&E attendances). The single largest increase in A&E attendances was attributed to ‘Diagnosis not classifiable’ which represented 56% of the total increase in attendances.

We accept that the care of children and young people with respiratory conditions is an area for improvement and is recognised as such in the NHS Outcomes Framework 2012-13. Under ‘Helping people to recover from episodes of ill health or following injury’ an area for improvement is “preventing lower respiratory tract infections (LRU) in children from becoming serious. 3.2 Emergency admissions for children with LRU”.

On 26 January 2012 the Secretary of State for Health, my right hon. Friend Mr Lansley, announced the development of the Children and Young People's Health Outcomes Strategy. The strategy will seek to ensure that the outcomes measured are the ones that matter most to children, young people and their families and the professionals that support them, and set out how different parts of the system will contribute to delivery of these outcomes.