HC Deb 27 March 1952 vol 498 cc62-3W
33. Mr. Perkins

asked the Minister of Health the average time taken to grant a non-priority hearing-aid through the Bristol Royal Hospital; how many such applications have been made since the inception of the scheme; how many have been granted; and whether the waiting period is becoming longer or shorter.

Miss Hornsby-Smith

Average figures of this kind are not available. Of approximately 10,000 applicants from the area served by the centre, about 4,400 have received their aids. A recent increase in staff has enabled the rate of distribution to increase and the waiting period to be shortened.

70. Mr. H. Hynd

asked the Minister of Health what special arrangements he is making to deal with arrears of applications for hearing aids in Accrington and district, in view of the fact that no otologist has been available at Blackburn Royal Infirmary for the last six months.

Miss Hornsby-Smith

For reasons which I am explaining in a letter to the hon. Member, the temporary suspension of hearing aids diagnostic clinics at the Blackburn Royal Infirmary has not meant that patients from Accrington and district have had to wait longer for their aids than they would otherwise have done.

71. Mr. George Craddock

asked the Minister of Health how many applications for hearing aids under the National Health Service were outstanding on 1st March, 1952, for the City of Bradford; and what is the average waiting period.

Miss Hornsby-Smith

Separate figures for the city are not available, but in the whole area served by the Bradford centre 4,849 applications were outstanding, of which the earliest was made in March, 1949. Priority patients are fitted almost immediately.

78. Mr. Wallace

asked the Minister of Health how many applicants for hearing aids are on the London Hospital waiting list; what is the average number of applicants registered monthly; how many applicants have been waiting for 12 months or more; and what is the average waiting period for comparable hospitals within the London area.

Miss Hornsby-Smith

About 3,250 patients are waiting to be supplied by this hospital. About 150 fresh names are added each month to the waiting list, which has recently been substantially reduced. Six hundred and eighty-two have been waiting for a year or more. Patients now being fitted at this and most other centres in the London area applied in 1950.