Hospital Waiting Lists (Hansard, 13 December 2000)

§ 7. Mr. Graham Brady (Altrincham and Sale, West)
What discussions he has had with the First Secretary 628 and the Welsh Health Secretary with regard to the number of people currently waiting more than 18 months for an operation at a hospital in Wales who live in England. [142007]

§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Wales (Mr. David Hanson)
The Secretary of State and I would not normally discuss with Assembly Health Secretaries the issue of patients living in England who are waiting for operations in hospitals in Wales, as they are not included in Welsh waiting list figures. These are the responsibility of health authorities in England. However, we are aware that some English residents are admitted to hospitals in Wales, and colleagues at the Department of Health have advised us that the most recent statistics show that the number currently waiting over 18 months is nil.

§ Mr. Brady
I am amazed by the Minister's answer. He clearly ducked the question. He must be aware, as I am, that in March 1997 1,400 people had waited more than 18 months for operations. [Interruption.]

§ Mr. Speaker
Order. I am sorry to interrupt the hon. Gentleman. Members on the Government Benches must be quiet.

§ Mr. Brady
In March 1997, 1,400 patients had been waiting more than 18 months for in-patient treatment in Wales, but now there are more than 5,000. Under the Government, the waiting lists have increased by 257 per cent. What does he intend to do about that? Surely he must accept that he cannot continue to bat it away and try to avoid the issue.

§ Mr. Hanson
It seems to me that the hon. Gentleman has not read his own question, which asked how many people who live in England and are serviced by hospitals in Wales have waited more than 18 months. The answer to that question is nil. If he wants to talk about Welsh hospital waiting lists, I can tell him that a Conservative Government would, as a result of their proposed tax cuts, reduce the £1.35 billion extra that is being provided over the next three years. I noticed that he did not mention the 9 per cent. increase in his own health authority's funding for this year.

§ Mr. Huw Edwards (Monmouth)
Does my hon. Friend agree that waiting lists in Wales are being addressed by the investment that the Government are putting into new hospital provision? In the past two years, I have attended the opening of a brand new community hospital in Chepstow and a new day surgery unit at Abergavenny, and I look forward to attending the opening of the new community hospital in Monmouth in the next couple of years.

§ Mr. Hanson
My hon. Friend puts his finger on it. The difference between the Government and the Opposition is that we deliver hospitals on the ground. Chepstow hospital and the potential new development in the Monmouth constituency are important investments in health care. The £1.35 billion extra that the Government have committed to health care in Wales is threatened by the policies of the Conservative party.

§ Mr. Brady
On a point of order, Mr. Speaker. I want to give notice that, in view of the Minister's unsatisfactory 629 response to my question and the fact that he did not even mention the 257 per cent. increase in waiting lists for in-patient operations in Wales, I intend to raise this matter on the Adjournment.