§ Mr. Maxwell-Hyslopasked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he will introduce a computerized system to enable general practitioners to ascertain in each health care district which consultant in each speciality has the shortest waiting list for (a)inpatients and (b) outpatients.
§ Mr. John PattenDepartmental guidance on the management of in-patient waiting lists suggests that waiting list information should be made available to general practitioners so that a patient may be given the opportunity to be referred to a hospital with a shorter wait. We are at present funding a pilot study in the West Midlands Region making use of a computer system to test the effect upon referral practice of providing general764W practitioners with regular information about total (both in-patient and out-patient) waiting times at hospitals outside their own district. If this proves successful we will consider how it might be extended more widely.