§ Mr. Hodgsonasked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) what is the average length of time a patient waits for a hernia operation in the Walsall area health authority and in England and Wales as a whole;
(2) what is the average length of time a patient waits for a gall bladder operation in the Walsall area health authority and in England and Wales as a whole.
§ Mr. Moyle, pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 25 January 1979; Vol. 961, c. 245], gave the following information:
At 31 December 1976, the latest date for which comparative figures are available, the mean waiting times in weeks for hernia and gall bladder operations in Walsall and England as a whole were:
Walsall Hernia 69 Gall Bladder 28 England Hernia 20 Gall Bladder 15 The current figures for Walsall only are 106 and 59 respectively.