§ Mr. CorbettTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the extra money allocated specifically to reduce in-patient waiting lists, by specialty, to each of the Birmingham health districts and the West Midlands health region in each year in which allocations have been made; and what assessment he has made of its impact upon in-patient waiting lists by each Birmingham health district and the West Midlands health region.
§ Mrs. Virginia Bottomley[holding answer 23 July 1990]: Information on the allocations is given in the tables. The West Midlands regional health authority has assessed the impact of waiting list funds on targeted specialties in 1989–90. During that year the region achieved an overall 10.9 per cent. reduction in its long wait in-patient lists, largely due to the successful targeting of waiting list funds. An assessment for each of the Birmingham districts and for Birmingham as a whole is given in the tables.
West Midlands RHA and Birmingham DHAs' WLF allocations District Specialty Allocation £ Waiting list fund 1987–88 Central Birmingham General Surgery 71,500 Central Birmingham Urology 52,000 East Birmingham T and O 350,000 East Birmingham ENT 6,000 East Birmingham Ophthalmology 70,000 South Birmingham T and O 408,500 South Birmingham ENT 80,000 West Birmingham Ophthalmology 79,500 Sub total 1,117,000 West Midlands total WLF allocation 3,120,000 Waiting list fund 1988–89 East Birmingham T and O 318,000 East Birmingham Ophthalmology 74,000 South Birmingham T and O 236,000 South Birmingham ENT 380,100 West Birmingham Ophthalmology 90,100 Sub total 1,098,100 West Midlands total WLF allocation 3,354,000 Waiting list fund 1989–90 Central Birmingham Urology 37,000 Central Birmingham Gynaecology 80,000 East Birmingham Urology 142,000 North Birmingham T and O 42,000 North Birmingham General Surgery 100,000 South Birmingham Urology 64,000 West Birmingham Ophthalmology 100,000 Sub total 565,000 West Midlands total WLF allocation 2,743,000 Waiting list fund 1990–91 2,850,000 West Midlands total WLF allocation. Allocations to Birmingham districts yet to be confirmed. 437W
Effect of waiting list initiatives on targeted lists 1989/90 numbers waiting over a year (in-patients) Lists with initiative Lists without initiative Central Birmingham March 89 338 1,572 March 90 175 1,172 Difference -163 -400
Lists with initiative Lists without initiative percentage difference -48.2 -25.4 East Birmingham March 89 115 600 March 90 51 409 Difference -64 -191 percentage difference -55.7 -31.8 North Birmingham March 89 498 179 March 90 281 178 Difference -217 -1 percentage difference -43.6 -0.6 South Birmingham March 89 255 326 March 90 86 782 Difference -169 456 percentage difference -66.3 139.9 West Birmingham March 89 150 399 March 90 22 103 Difference -128 -296 percentage difference -85.3 -74.3 Birmingham Districts as a whole March 1989 1,206 2,677 March 1990 593 2,541 Difference -613 -136 percentage difference -50.8 -5.1
Lists with initiative Lists without initiative Total West Midland Region March 89 9,053 10,942 19,995 March 90 5,783 12,024 17,807 Difference -3,270 1,083 -2,188 percentage difference -36.1 9.9 -10.9