§ Mr. John Heddleasked the Secretary of State for Social Services, further to his answer to the hon. Member for Thanet, East (Mr. Aitken) on 2 July, Official Report, c. 488–89, if he will specify (a) the advantages and (b) the disadvantages of collating centrally the average waiting time for hip replacement operations and related information; and what is the cost of collecting and maintaining this information centrally.
§ Dr. VaughanGiven the wide variation in waiting times for orthopaedic surgery between districts—to which the report of Professor Duthie's working party draws attention—national averages are of limited significance. I am doubtful whether more detailed information about them would be helpful to those whose responsibility it is to tackle this problem at the local level. More generally, I recognise the advantages to health districts of being able to compare their own performance with that of other districts and, as I said in my reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Hemel Hempstead (Mr. Lyell) on 12 March—[Vol. 1000, c.422–23]—the working party's recommendation on this subject has been brought to the attention of the Steering Group on Health Services Information.
The cost of collecting and maintaining information about hip replacement operations cannot be separately identified within the total costs of the hospital in-patient inquiry. The cost of producing a special tabulation to show the average waiting time for this operation is estimated at £200.
§ Mr. Heddleasked the Secretary of State for Social Services, further to his answer to the hon. Member for Hemel Hempstead (Mr. Lyell) on 12 March, Official Report, c. 422–23, what progress has been made since that date towards the implementation of the recommendations contained in the report of the working committee chaired by Professor Duthie with particular regard to the reduction of waiting lists; with whom and with which professional bodies he is currently discussing this matter; and what steps he is taking to monitor the implementation of the recommendations of the Duthie report.
§ Dr. VaughanI refer my hon. Friend to my reply to him on 13 May—[Vol. 4, c.298.] It is too soon yet for me to expect health district managements and clinicians to have completed the evaluation studies which the report recommends. The Department is keeping closely in touch with the work being done by the British Orthopaedic Association in following up the report and will at a later date be reviewing the progress achieved by health authorities. The report has meanwhile been brought to the attention of relevant medical and other professional advisory bodies, whose views have been sought particularly on the relevance of the recommendations for specialties other than orthopaedics. The report was also considered recently at a meeting between the Department and the regional medical officers of regional health authorities.