§ Mr. MorganTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will initiate a study into the relationship between the numbers waiting on the consultants' waiting list for longer than the maximum time specified under the patients charter and the numbers awaiting their initial out-patient appointment and length of that wait.
§ Dr. MawhinneyNo. The patients charter requires health authorities to set and publish local guarantees for the length of time people wait for out-patient appointments. The NHS is therefore expected to deliver a balanced programme that progressively reduces the whole waiting experience.