§ 2.35 p.m.
§ LORD SHEPHERDMy Lords, I beg to ask the Question which stands in my name on the Order Paper.
§ [The Question was as follows:
§ To ask Her Majesty's Government how many people were waiting to enter hospital in England and Wales at the latest convenient date, and what is the average waiting period.]
THE EARL OF ONSLOWMy Lords, there were about 434,000 people on hospital waiting lists at the end of September, 1957. I am afraid that information about waiting periods is not centrally available to my right honourable and learned friend, and variations in the waiting time between different specialties would in any event make an over-all average difficult, if not impossible, to interpret.
§ LORD SHEPHERDMy Lords, whilst thanking the noble Earl for his Answer, may I ask Her Majesty's Government whether they are not disturbed by the fact that over 400,000 people are waiting for hospital treatment, and whether this is clue either to insufficient hospital accommodation or to lack of nursing staff to staff our existing hospitals? If the latter be the case, may I ask Her Majesty's Government what action they propose to take in the matter?
THE EARL OF ONSLOWMy Lords, in point of fact, except for the last quarter, for which I have information, the waiting lists have been falling considerably. I do not wish to weary your Lordships with the figures, but if the noble Lord would like me to give them to him afterwards I shall be only too pleased so to do. But since 1955 the numbers on the 582 waiting lists have fallen considerably, due largely to the more efficient use of hospital beds as the Health Service has progressed.
§ LORD SHEPHERDMy Lords, is there no lack of nursing staff in the hospitals to-day?
THE EARL OF ONSLOWI would not say that; but I think it is slightly outside the original Question. The waiting lists are falling rapidly. Of course, it is a question of certain types of cases that are kept waiting. But serious cases, so far as I have been informed, have never been kept waiting.
§ LORD SHEPHERDMy Lords, I thank the noble Earl for his Answer.
§ THE EARL OF LUCANMy Lords would not the noble Earl answer the supplementary question which my noble friend asked—whether shortage of nurses is responsible for any of the waiting lists.
THE EARL OF ONSLOWMy Lords, I have no doubt that shortage of nurses must affect the list. While everything is being done to recruit more nurses as necessary, I do not think that this difficulty applies particularly to the present Question.