§ Mr. Pattieasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will list, for the latest available date (a) the number of patients on in-patient waiting lists, (b) the number of urgent cases awaiting admission to hospitals and hospital admissions, and (c) the percentage of urgent cases who have to wait for more than one month for their hospital admissions.
§ Mr. Moyle:On 31st March 1978, the latest date for which figures are available, there were 603,240 patients awaiting admission to National Health Service hospitals in England, 41,236 patients were classified as urgent and 64.7 per cent. of these had waited for more than one month.
§ Mr. Pattieasked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many people were awaiting admission to National Health Service hospitals at the following dates (a) March 1974, (b) March 1978 and (c) the latest available date.
§ Mr. Moyle:Figures for March 1974 are not available. At 30th June 1974 there were 508,390 patients awaiting admission to National Health Service hospitals in England. The total at 31st March 1978, the latest date for which this information is available, was 603,240.