§ Mr. Ron Lewisasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is the average length of waiting time for patients to see consultants in the Cumbria group of hospitals; and how this compares with the average throughout the country.
§ Dr. OwenWaiting time for new non-urgent out-patient appointments varies according to specialty, from under one week to three months, but the majority of patients in Cumbria are seen within a month. Urgent cases on the advice of the patient's general practitioner are seen without delay.
Because of variations between specialties comparisons of average waiting times for all specialties are not meaningful.