HC Deb 04 May 1993 vol 224 cc41-2W
16. Mr. Lewis

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make a statement on the current position on hospital waiting lists.

Mr. Sackville

I refer the hon. Member to the reply my right hon. Friend gave the hon. Member for Bridgend (Mr. Griffiths) earlier today.

21. Mr. Hawksley

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the average time which patients had to wait for treatment(a) in March 1988 and (b) in March 1992.

Mr. Sackville

The latest data on patients admitted for treatment show 50 per cent. were admitted immediately and of those who were admitted from waiting lists half had waited less than five weeks. The average waiting time of patients on waiting lists has fallen from nine months in March 1988 to five months in March 1992.

22. Mr. Luff

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients are waiting more than two years for surgery in the Worcester district health authority.

Mr. Sackville

None. Provisional figures show that there were no patients waiting more than a year in the Worcester district health authority as at 31 March 1993.

Mr. Elletson

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many NHS patients had waited for treatment for over a year in the North Western region(a) in March 1991 and (b) in the latest month for which figures are available; and if she will make a statement.

Mr. Sackville

Latest provisional figures for 31 December 1992 show that since March 1991 the number of patients waiting for more than a year in North Western region has fallen by 48 per cent. from 14,078 to 7,332. In England over the same period the number waiting over a year fell by 52 per cent. to 80,585—the lowest figure ever recorded.

Mr. Deva

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many NHS patients had waited for treatment for over a year in the South West Thames region(a) in March 1991 and (b) in the latest month for which figures are available; and if she will make a statement.

Mr. Sackville

Latest provisional figures for 31 December 1992 show that since March 1991 the number of patients waiting for more than a year in the South West Thames region has fallen by 62 per cent. from 8,969 to 3,383.

Mr. Spring

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress has been made towards the patients charter guarantee that from 31 March no one should wait more than 18 months for a hip or knee joint replacement or a cataract operation.

Mrs. Virginia Bottomley

The guarantee has been successfully introduced. Reports from regions indicate that at 31 March 1993 there were no patients waiting more than 18 months for a hip replacement or a cataract operation and only eight patients waiting more than 18 months for a knee replacement. We are pressing the regions involved to ensure that these patients are treated immediately.