§ 26. Mrs. BrintonTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the number of patients in the NHS in England who were having to wait more than 18 months for treatment as of 31 March 1997. [38700]
§ Mr. MilburnHealth authority based figures show that 143 patients were having to wait more than eighteen months for admission to hospital on 31 March 1997. Our commitment was to eliminate such unacceptably long waiting times. Provisional management information indicates that on 31 March 1998 there were no English residents waiting more than 18 months for admission to hospital.