Health written question – answered at on 16 July 2003.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health
(1) how many deaths there were of patients suffering from anorexia, broken down by age, in each year since 1997;
(2) what the average cost was of treating a patient suffering from anorexia in each of the last three years;
(3) what the waiting time for patients with anorexia was to see a consultant in each primary care trust in each of the last three years.
Anorexia is a severe condition, mainly but not exclusively, affecting younger women, which can lead to death in about 15 per cent. of cases. It may affect as many as 1 per cent. of women and is a matter of considerable concern to the Department of Health.
A new group, the National Development Group for Specialised Services, chaired by the National Director for Mental Health, Professor Appleby, have recently reviewed this issue and will report their findings in the autumn.
In addition, the National Institute for Clinical Excellence is preparing guidelines for the treatment of anorexia and these are expected to be issued towards the end of this year. Unfortunately, Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) data, which relate to diagnostic information for in-patients in national health service hospitals who have finished their hospital episodes under the care of a consultant specialist, are not collected in a form that reliably permits breakdown of the statistics on deaths following admission to hospital by diagnostic category.
Treatment costs associated with the care of such patients are normally be spread across primary care as well as secondary specialised services and information about overall cost is not captured in a way that permits analysis by diagnostic category.
Furthermore, summary information about waiting times to see a consultant psychiatrist is collected, but this is not broken down by diagnostic category.
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