§ Miss Boothroydasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is the average waiting period for hip operations in the orthopaedic ward at Dudley Guest Hospital; and to what extent the waiting period has varied over the last five years.
§ Mr. MoyleHip operations are carried out at Dudley Corbett Hospital and Wordsley Hospital. Meaningful figures 545W for average waiting times cannot be given. Currently waiting times vary between about 18 months and four years depending upon the degree of urgency for treatment and the length of the appropriate waiting list. Because of the very significant increase in the demand for this type of operation over the past few years, comparison of waiting times with 1973 would not be meaningful.