HC Deb 16 January 1989 vol 145 cc61-2W
Mr. Foulkes

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what the waiting list and waiting times for orphopaedic operations within the Ayrshire and Arran health board area has been each month from January 1985 to the most recent available date.

Mr. Michael Forsyth

Information on waiting lists is collected centrally twice in each year. Data on waiting lists for orthopaedic operations are not held; but the number of people waiting for admission as in-patients to orthopaedic units in Ayrshire and Arran health board hospitals at 31 March and 30 September for the years requested is set out in table 1

The mean waiting times for those admitted from the waiting lists for operations in orthopaedic units in Ayrshire for the years requesed, is set out in table 2.

Table 1
Orthopaedic in-patient waiting list
Date Number
1985
31 March 1,220
30 September 1,255
1986
31 March 1,369
30 September 1,563
1987
31 March 1,593
30 September 1,454
19881
31 March 984
1 This figures relates to the "in-patient true waiting list" and is based on a new system of data collection. It is therefore not fully comparable with those previously collected.

Table 2
Mean length of wait in days for cases admitted from the orthopaedic waiting lists for operations
Month Mean wait
1985
January 128.5
February 96.5
March 104.2
April 106.7
May 97.7
June 94.1
July 163.9
August 115.5
September 134.3
October 109.0
November 102.8
December 105.4
1986
January 108.4
February 115.1
March 120.3
April 118.9
May 105.8
June 103.0
July 100.8
August 150.7
September 143.2
October 135.4
November 132.3
December 139.3
1987
January 150.6
February 152.2
March 152.2
April 135.0
May 113.2
June 159.2
July 138.2
August 261.5
September 248.3
October 204.4
November 182.9
December 170.8
19881
January 109.1
February 121.4
March 119.9
1These figures are provisional and are based on incomplete interim data.