§ Mr. Ashleyasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is the waiting time for (a) outpatient appointments and (b) operations in the ear, nose and throat specialties in (i) the United Kingdom, (ii) England and (iii) each of the English health authorities.
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§ Mr. John Patten[pursuant to his reply, 11 December 1984, c. 474]: Information on out-patient waiting times is not available centrally. The estimated median interval between the date a patient was put on the in-patient waiting list and the date of admission to a NHS hospital in each of the English regional health authorities and the four United Kingdom countries is given in the table. An aggregated figure covering the whole of the United Kingdom is not available.
Estimated median waiting time (in weeks) for ear, nose and throat operations in NHS hospitals in 1982 Number of weeks Scotland 8 Wales 10 Northern Ireland *9 England 11 English regional health authorities: Northern 11 Yorkshire 13 Trent 12 East Anglian 12 North West Thames 9 North East Thames 9 South East Thames 9 South West Thames 11 Wessex 16 Oxford 10 South Western 13 West Midlands 12 Mersey 10 North Western 10 Special health authorities and boards of governors 7 * Figure for 1983.