§ Mrs. EwingTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list the(a) surgical waiting list figures and (b) specialist outpatient consultation figures for Scotland for (i) March 1997, (ii) September 1997, (iii) March 1998 and (iv) September 1998. [66886]
§ Mr. Galbraith[holding answer 25 January 1999]: Information on the number of patients on the inpatient/day case waiting list for surgical specialties, on the dates requested, is given in Table 1.
Information on waiting lists is collected centrally only for hospital inpatients and day cases. Data are available on first outpatient referrals and the length of time that patients waited for their first outpatient appointment. The percentage of patients who received a first outpatient appointment within 9 weeks and 18 weeks following a General Medical Practitioner/General Dental Practitioner referral, for the quarters requested, is provided in Table 2.
From 1 July 1999, this will be a matter for the Scottish Parliament.
Table 1 NHS in Scotland: Inpatient and day case waiting list Date Number on waiting list for surgical specialties1 Total Number on waiting list 31 March 1997 68,562 84,649 30 September 1997 69,213 84,981 31 March 1998 71,797 89,525 30 September 1998 67,620 84,931 1 Surgical Specialties comprises general surgery (excluding vascular), vascular surgery, accident and emergency, anaesthetics, cardiothoracic surgery, cardiac surgery, thoracic surgery, ear nose and throat (ENT), neurosurgery, ophthalmology, orthopaedics, plastic surgery and surgical paediatrics. Source:
Form SMR3, ISD Scotland.
658W
Table 2 NHS in Scotland: Percentage of patients who received a first outpatient appointment within 9 weeks and within 18 weeks
of referral1
Date Percentage seen within 9 weeks Percentage seen within 18 weeks 31 March 1997 70.7 91.2 30 September 1997 66.5 91.7 31 March 1998 68.3 90.2 30 September 19981 64.6 89.8 1 Provisional Source:
Form SMRO/SMR01, ISD Scotland