§ Mr. Brooksasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what are the present waiting periods for each of the major medical fields for patients in Wirral before they can obtain appointments with the hospital consultants to whom they are referred by general practitioners.
§ Mr. CrossmanThe average waiting time in hospitals in Wirral for non-urgent cases is as follows:
Specialty Waiting time (weeks) General medicine … 2–3 Paediatrics … 1–2 Dermatology … 1–3 Geriatrics … 1 General Surgery … 1–3 E.N.T. (including T. & A.) … 1–4 Orthopaedic Surgery … 3–9 Ophthalmology … 6–7 Gynaecology … 3–8 Psychiatry … 3