§ 46 and 47. Mr. Greyasked the Minister of Health (1) how many people are at present waiting for hospitals beds in the northern region; how many of these have been on the waiting list for more than two years, 18 months, 12 months, nine months, six months, and three months, respectively; and how these figures compare with those of other regions;
(2) what is the average waiting period for a general hospital bed in the north region; and how this compares with other regions.
§ Mr. PowellFollowing are the figures:
Of the total of 28,544 names on waiting lists for admission to hospital in the Newcastle Region, 9,566 have been on the list for up to 2 months, 5,149 from 2 to 4 months, 7,570 from 4 to 12 months, and 6,259 for more than 12 months. These figures exclude the mentally subnormal. I regret that figures are not readily available for other periods nor for average waiting periods in this region or others; but on 30th June last there were 106.9 on waiting lists for every 100 beds in general hospitals in the Newcastle Region compared with an average of 99.3 in all other regions together.