§ 28. Mr. GreenwayTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the number of people awaiting their first appointment as a hospital out-patient. [98953]
§ Mr. DenhamData on the total number of people awaiting outpatient consultations are not collected centrally, because of the high level of turnover. During 1998–99 National Health Service trusts saw an extra 175,000 new outpatients. This year we expect the NHS to see over a third of a million more new outpatients than in 1998–99. That will mean that in 1999–2000, more than 11 million new outpatients will be seen—for the first time in the history of the NHS.