HC Deb 17 March 1958 vol 584 c103W
Sir K. Joseph

asked the Minister of Health in how many hospitals there have been surveys made of out-patient departments, so as to suit the convenience of patients as much as is compatible with the efficient use of hospital staffs.

Mr. Walker-Smith

All hospital authorities were asked in June, 1954, to review the arrangements in their outpatient departments with a view to effecting improvements, in particular by reducing, so far as possible, the amount of time spent by patients in waiting before being seen by a doctor. No precise figures are available, but reports on the results of these reviews show that hospital authorities generally made a thorough investigation of their arrangements and that many have been able to secure improvements.