§ Baroness Jegerasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether, in view of suggestions that because of uncertainties many consultants are not putting their patients' names on waiting lists, they are confident that hospital waiting lists accurately reflect levels of need in the NHS.
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health (Baroness Cumberlege)We are confident that hospital waiting lists accurately reflect the numbers of patients waiting for hospital treatment. If a hospital doctor decides that a patient's condition is ready for treatment, the patient is either treated immediately or put on a waiting list.