HC Deb 09 December 1981 vol 14 c432W
Mr. Brotherton

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will list for each area health authority the waiting period between a patient being referred by a general practitioner to an ear, nose and throat specialist and the patient seeing that specialist.

Dr. Vaughan

Statistics of waiting times for outpatient appointments with hospital consultants are not held centrally. The time an individual waits before seeing a consultant depends not only on the length of the outpatient waiting list but also on the general practitioner's clinical judgment of the urgency of the case.