Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many intensive care places in the UK have been occupied by Meningitis B patients since January 2013.

The information is not available in the format requested. Such information as is available for England is shown in the following table. Information for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland is a matter for the Devolved Administrations.

Number of critical care periods and critical care bed days with a primary diagnosis of meningitis for the period April 2013-March 2014 (provisional data):

Source: Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), Health and Social Care Information Centre

Notes:

1. Meningococcal B disease is caused by the bacteria Neisseria meningitidis. Information on usage of critical care beds resulting from meningococcal B disease is not separately identifiable. Information on meningococcal septicaemia has not been provided.

2. The data provided covers English NHS Hospitals and English NHS commissioned activity in the independent sector.

3. The primary diagnosis is the first of up to 20 diagnosis fields in the Hospital Episode Statistics data set and provides the main reason why the patient was admitted to hospital.

4. The following International Classification of Disease (ICD)-10 codes have been used to define meningitis:

A87 Viral meningitis

G00 Bacterial meningitis, not elsewhere classified

G03 Meningitis due to other and unspecified causes

G01.X* Meningitis in bacterial diseases classified elsewhere (in the 1st or 2nd position)

G02* Meningitis in other infectious and parasitic disease classified elsewhere (in the 1st or 2nd position)