§ Mr. Joplingasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what was the average length of time which patients had been on the waiting list, together with the longest single period in each case, who were operated on at the Westmorland County Hospital at Kendal for general, Orthopaedic, genito-urinary and gynaecological complaints, respectively, during the last year.
§ Dr. John Dunwoody:Information in the form requested is not available. Urgent cases are admitted without delay. Waiting times for admission of other patients vary so much according to circumstances that average figures would have little meaning. A number of those patients who have waited longest have been offered earlier admission and declined but have asked to be kept on the waiting list.
§ Mr. Joplingasked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many patients are on the waiting list at Westmorland County Hospital for general 359W surgery, orthopaedic surgery, genitourinary surgery and gynaecological surgery respectively; and what the average period of waiting will be in each case.
§ Mr. Crossman:The waiting lists are currently being reviewed and at 23rd April. 1970 were:
General Surgery … … 356 Orthopaedic … … 243 Genito-urinary … … 320 Gynaecology … … 196 In all but gynaecology these figures show a considerable improvement over those of 31st December, 1969.
Forecasts of future waiting time cannot be made.
§ Mr. Joplingasked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he will take steps to reduce the number of beds at Westmorland County Hospital at Wendal used for post-operative care, in view of the long waiting list for surgical beds.
§ Dr. John Dunwoody:No beds at Westmorland County Hospital are specifically allocated for post-operative care and the average lengths of stay are well below the national average. There appears therefore to be no possibility of reducing bed-use for post-operative care.