HC Deb 19 February 1975 vol 886 cc432-5W
Mr. Michael McGuire

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is the average length of time that people who live in the Ince constituency have to wait to receive treatment in the various specialties available at the Ormskirk General Hospital and Wigan Infirmary, respectively; and if she will give, in each case, details for in-patients and out-patients in each specialty, and a comparison between these figures and the area regional and national averages.

Dr. Owen

, pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 20th December 1974, Vol. 883, c. 733], circulated the following information:

Table I relates to in-patients discharged during November 1974 and Table II to out-patient appointments given to patients referred on the dates shown. Waiting times for admission vary according to the circumstances of each case and urgent cases are admitted without delay, so that averages are misleading.

Figures corresponding to those in Table I are not available either for the region or nationally. The Report on the Hospital In-Patient Enquiry for the year 1972, the latest year for which statistics have been published, provides in Table II of the preliminary tables the waiting times for various diagnostic groups of patients admitted from waiting lists in England and Wales. xc I am sending my hon. Friend a copy of the table which is based on a sample inquiry.

TABLE I
Numbers of patients discharged in November 1974, by specialty, and waiting time prior to admission from waiting lists:
Wigan Infirmary
Under 3 months 3–6 months 6–12 months 1–2 years Over 2 years
General Medicine
Paediatrics
Chest Diseases
Geriatrics
General Surgery 192 152 171 123
Traumatic and Orthopaedic 69 13 13 14
Ophthalmology 107 77 63
Plastic Surgery 47 12 4
Dental Surgery 47 38 56 23
Gynaecology 85 57 101 153 73
Mental Illness
Ear, Nose and Throat 240 185 298 88
Wigan Area
Under 3 months 3–6 months 6–12 months 1–2 years Over 2 years
General Medicine
Paediatrics
Chest Diseases Not applicable
Geriatrics Not applicable
General Surgery 327 235 245 135 1
Traumatic and Orthopaedic 89 13 13 14
Ophthalmology 107 77 63
Plastic Surgery 47 12 4
Dental Surgery 47 38 56 23
Gynaecology 150 102 147 192 80
Mental Illness Not applicable
Ear, Nose and Throat 367 328 415 190 22
Ormskirk General Hospital
Under 3 months 3–6 months 6–12 months 1–2 years Over 2 years
General Medicine
Paediatrics
Chest Diseases
Geriatrics 16
General Surgery 58 20 27 12 3
Traumatic and Orthopaedic 49 8 4
Ophthalmology
Plastic Surgery
Dental Surgery
Gynaecology 25 11
Mental Illness
Ear, Nose and Throat 28 23 28 46 2
Lancashire Area (excluding Preston)
Under 3 months 3–6 months 6–12 months 1–2 years Over 2 years
General Medicine 14
Paediatrics 24 1 8
Chest Diseases
Geriatrics 118
General Surgery 1,234 397 404 419 293
Traumatic and Orthopaedic 820 456 693 836 445
Ophthalmology 188 87 84 73 34
Plastic Surgery Not Applicable
Dental Surgery 134 40 75 42 19
Gynaecology 731 128 54 28 44
Mental Illness 20 5 1
Ear, Nose and Throat Not Available
Notes:
1. Blanks in columns of figures denote no waiting time.
2. The symbol "—" denotes specialty not provided in the hospital.
3. The figures include patients from outside Ince constituency but within the hospital catchment areas.

I regret that national averages for out-patient waiting times corresponding to those in Table II are not available

TABLE II
Non-urgent out-patient appointments waiting time in days as at 31st October 1974 (Wigan) and 30th November 1974 (Ormskirk) between referrals by general practitioners and first out-patient appointments.
Specialty Wigan Infirmary Wigan Area Ormskirk District General Hospital Lancs. Area Northwestern Region
General Medicine 84 63 35 11 14
Paediatrics 14 14 56 2 14
Diseases of the Chest 42 14 6 14
Dermatology 42 35 6 20
Rheumatology 28 N/A 28 40
Geriatrics 28 N/A 7 10
General Surgery 49 42 28 5 20
Ear, Nose and Throat 42 49 119 4 25
Orthopaedics 70 70 49 21 60
Ophthalmics 56 7 56 10 20
Radiotherapy 7 N/A 6 4
Plastic Surgery 14 42 14 24
Thoracic Surgery 7 N/A 7 6
Dental Surgery 270 7 28 5 20
Neurosurgery 7 N/A 14 25
Gynaecology 56 35 28 6 20
Psychiatry—children 7 7 7 42 14
Mental Illness 14 N/A 70 7 12
Note:
1. "N/A" means information is not available.
2. The symbol "—" denotes the specialty is not provided at the hospital.