HC Deb 18 February 1992 vol 204 cc172-3
12. Mr. Hind

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many representations he has received from patients about NHS trusts; and if he will make a statement.

Mrs. Virginia Bottomley

I am delighted to report that a recent patient satisfaction survey showed that, of 901 patients consulted, 96 per cent. were either very satisfied or quite satisfied with the quality of service that they had received. The survey showed also that the majority, 92 per cent., felt that the service had improved or stayed the same.

Mr. Hind

Will my hon. Friend take time today to congratulate the doctors and staff at Ormskirk district general hospital who are second in the country in respect of their waiting list register, with 94 per cent. of patients operated on within three months of their names appearing on the register? The hospital, driven by the doctors themselves, is seeking trust status; I hope that my hon. Friend will consider its application sympathetically and support the hospital in every way that she can.

Mrs. Bottomley

I give my warmest congratulations to the staff at Ormskirk hospital, which I visited in November 1989 for the turf-cutting for a new £32 million project which was a typical example of the 75 per cent. increase in capital spending that we have put into the service—unlike the cuts of the Labour party. The hospital has certainly achieved remarkable developments and was recently congratulated by the Sunday Times on its work in having achieved the second shortest general surgery waiting list.