§ Mr. Youngerasked the Secretary of State for Scotland if, pursuant to his answer of 12 June 1978, Official Report, column 344, he will give the latest figures for the total number of discharges from National Health Service hospitals after abortion in Scotland.
§ Mr. Harry EwingFigures for 1977 are:
Therapeutic abortions 7,088 Other abortions 6,659 Total 13,745 The first figure represents abortions carried out in National Health Service hospitals and notified under the Abortion Act 1967.
The second figure covers a range of non-therapeutic abortions, the majority being spontaneous abortions.
MEAN WAITING TIME (IN DAYS) FOR PATIENTS DISCHARGED BY SELECTED DIAGNOSIS Diagnosis 1974 1975 1976 1977 Strabismus 91 98 77 91 Cataract 84 98 91 91 Varicose veins 147 168 168 154 Haemorrhoids 98 105 105 105 Hypertrophy of tonsils and adenoids 112 112 105 105 Hernia of abdominal cavity 91 98 105 98 Diseases of cervix including cervicalerosion 70 63 63 56 Utero-vaginal prolapse and malposition of uterus 98 77 84 84 Internal derangement of knee joint 84 77 77 91 Displacement of invertebral disc 42 35 35 35