§ Mr. Alfred Morrisasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what representations the Wythenshawe and North 435W Cheshire Hospital Management Committee has received from consultant surgeons, radiologists, physicians and gynaecologists about the possible reduction of beds for surgical, including orthopaedic, gynaecological, ear, nose and throat and medical, including paediatric, use in the new Wythenshawe hospital; what consideration is being given to this matter; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. AlisonI understand that last January consultants at Wythenshawe hospital wrote to the Wythenshawe and North Cheshire Hospital Management Committee about bed provision in the new Wythenshawe hospital. They have since held frequent discussions with the group's officers with a view to formulating agreed proposals for consideration by the hospital management committee and, later, the regional hospital board.
§ Mr. Alfred Morrisasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is the present number of people awaiting admission to hospitals in the area of the Manchester Regional Hospital Board and the Wythenshawe and North Cheshire Hospital Management Committee, respectively; if he will classify the cases according to condition and give the average period of waiting; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. AlisonThe number of persons awaiting admission to hospitals in the Manchester Region and in the area served by the Wythenshawe and North Cheshire Hospital Management Committees respectively, in the specialties shown as at 31st December, 1971, were:
436W
Specialty Manchester Regional Hospital Board Wythenshawe and North Cheshire Hospital Management Committee General Medicine 227 3 Paediatrics 78 — Diseases of the Chest 5 2 Dermatology 74 — Neurology 16 — Cardiology 95 18 Physical Medicine/Rehabilitation 11 — Rheumatology 86 — Geriatrics 803 68 Chronic Sick 67 — General Surgery 16,310 508 Ear, Nose and Throat 15,077 1,251 Traumatic and Orthopaedic Surgery 9,391 224 Ophthalmology 1,821 —
Specialty Manchester Regional Hospital Board Wythenshawe and North Cheshire Hospital Management Committee Radiotherapy 126 — Urology 1,249 — Plastic Surgery 2,138 — Thoracic Surgery 439 154 Dental Surgery 993 — Orthodontics 16 — Neurosurgery 666 — Gynaecology 9,948 364 Psychiatry Children (excluding Mental Handicap) 8 — Mental Handicap 422 — Mental Illness 84 — Chronic Sick under Psychiatric Supervision 4 — Others 103 — TOTAL 60,257 2,592 Waiting times for admission vary according to specialty and the circumstances of individual cases and averages have, therefore, little meaning.
§ Mr. Alfred Morrisasked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many people are now awaiting admission to hospitals in the Wythenshawe constituency of Manchester; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. AlisonHospital statistics cannot be related directly to constituency boundaries, but patients from the Wythenshawe constituency would, in the main, be referred to Wythenshawe hospital. At 30th September, 1972, the number of persons awaiting admission to the hospital was 1,416.
§ Mr. Alfred Morrisasked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many people are now awaiting hospital admission for tonsillectomy in the Wythenshawe constituency of Manchester; what has been the average period of waiting; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. AlisonSeparate hospital admission figures for tonsillectomy are not readily available. In the ear, nose and throat specialty on 30th September, 1972, there were 570 patients awaiting admission to the Wythenshawe hospital, the main hospital serving the Wythenshawe constituency. Waiting times vary according to the circumstances of the individual case and an average figure would, 437W therefore, have little meaning. Of the above total 321 had been waiting for less than three months.