Health Authorities (Returns) (Hansard, 21 November 1986)

§ Mr. Newton

[pursuant to his reply, 17 November c. 77]: The figures on the hospital waiting list returns submitted by district health authorities are validated by the Department, in consultation with the regional health authorities, to eliminate obvious recording errors. The last SBH 203 return for 31 March 1986 was received from a district in mid-August, but changes arising from the validation process continued until late last month.

394W

I have today placed details of national, regional and district waiting list figures for 31 March 1986 in the Library of the House. By comparison with earlier figures in the series, additional work has been done to make the presentation more helpful to hon. Members, in particular by including a 10-year graph which shows trends in waiting times and activity as well as in waiting lists; figures for changes over the latest year as well as the latest six months; and to give as percentages of the appropriate totals the numbers of cases waiting more than a month and more than a year.

While the number of patients on the in-patient hospital waiting list in England in March 1986, at 673,107, was slightly lower than a year earlier, it was 1.8 per cent. higher than at the end of September 1985. It is however encouraging that waiting times fell both over the year from March 1985 and over the six months from September 1985. For example, non-urgent cases on the list for more than a year fell, as a percentage of all cases, from 25.4 per cent. on 31 March 1985 to 24.2 per cent. on 30 September 1985 and 24 per cent. on 31 March 1986.

As the hon. Member is aware, my right hon. Friend recently announced that £50 million has been set aside over the next two years to assist in a major drive to reduce waiting lists and times which health authorities have been asked to undertake.