HC Deb 14 April 1981 vol 3 cc95-7W
Mr. Heddle

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he proposes to publish a response to the Duthie report on orthopaedic waiting lists.

Dr. Vaughan

I refer my hon. Friend to my reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Hemel Hempstead (Mr. Lyell) on 12 March.—[Vol. 1000, c.422–23.]

Mr. Heddle

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what percentage of non-urgent cases in England and Wales awaiting orthopaedic surgery have been waiting for more than one year; and what were the comparable figures for the years 1977 to 1980 inclusive.

Dr. Vaughan

The following table shows the most recent available information for England only:

Non-urgent cases on waiting lists: orthopaedic surgery: England: percentage of cases waiting more than one year
31 March 1977 31 March 1978 31 March 1979 31 March 1980
Total number of non-urgent cases waiting 90,075 96,804 120,030 115,347
Number of non-urgent cases waiting more than one year 27,580 29,587 39,011 46,631
Percentage of non-urgent cases waiting more than one year 30.6 30.6 32.5 40.4

Although waiting lists generally have been falling steadily since 1979, orthopaedic waiting times for non-urgent cases have been increasing. This is why we strongly welcomed the constructive recommendations made recently by the Duthie working party for reducing waiting list times for orthopaedics.

Mr. Heddle

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he is satisfied with the progress in reducing excessive waiting time for orthopaedic outpatients' appointments and in-patients' treatment; and if he will make a statement.

Dr. Vaughan

I am not satisfied with the present position, and it is for this reason that I have welcomed the report of the working party chaired by Professor Duthie, which examined the problem of excessive waiting times in the specialty of orthopaedics. I hope that study of the report and its recommendations will assist health authorities to take action within their resources to reduce the waiting times in this specialty.

Mr. Heddle

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many hip replacement operations have been carried out in each of the last 10 years for the following age categories (a) 0 to 15 years, (b) 16 to 64 years, (c) 65 to 74 years and (d) over 75 years.

Dr. Vaughan

I regret that information on the ages of patients is not readily available from central statistics. The following table shows the estimated numbers of total hip replacements and arthroplasties of the hip for all ages for the last 10 years for which statistics are available:

Total estimated hip operations in National Health Service non-psychiatric hospitals in England and Wales, 1969–1978
Year Total Hip Replacements Other Arthroplasties of the Hip
1969 10,020 850
1970 11,750 1,050
1971 15,720 1,770
1972 16,670 2,970
1973 16,760 2,560
1974 18,750 2,790
1975 16,590 6,300
1976 18,260 7,680
1977 18,840 8,000
1978 18,110 9,430

Mr. Heddle

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what percentage of urgent cases awaiting orthopaedic surgery in England and Wales have been waiting (a) more than one month, (b) more than six months and (c) more than one year; and what were the comparable figures for the years 1977 to 1980 inclusive.

Dr. Vaughan

The following table shows the percentage of urgent cases awaiting hospital admission for orthopaedic treatment for over one month in England only during the years 1977 to 1980. Information on the numbers of cases waiting more than six months and more than one year is not available centrally.

Urgent cases on waiting lists: Orthopaedic surgery: England: percentage of cases waiting more than one month
31 March 1977 31 March 1978 31 March 1979 11 March 1980
Total number of urgent cases waiting 8,205 9,593 13,475 11,570
Number of urgent cases waiting more than one month 6,314 7,488 11,214 9,583
Percentage of urgent cases waiting more than one month 77.0 78.1 83.2 82.8

Mr. Heddle

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many patients in England and Wales are currently awaiting orthopaedic surgery; and what proportion of in-patient waiting list numbers awaiting surgery in all specialties this represents.

Dr. Vaughan

On 31 March 1980, the most recent date for which figures are centrally available, there were 126,917 patients waiting for admission to hospital in the specialty of traumatic and orthopaedic surgery. This represented 23.7 per cent. of the total number waiting for admission in all the surgical specialties.

Mr. Heddle

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he will publish the latest figures to indicate the rate of growth and the number of patients awaiting orthopaedic surgery over the last five years in each health district of England and Wales.

Dr. Vaughan

I regret that this information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Mr. Whitlock

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will give the figures of the waiting lists for hip replacement operations in each of the regional health authorities.

Dr. Vaughan

I regret that this information is not available centrally.