§ Dr. Roger Thomasasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if his Department will investigate the procedure by which consultants recall their patients for review in order to increase selectivity and consequently enable patients on waiting lists for first appointments to be seen appreciably sooner, so reducing waiting time.
§ Mr. Kenneth ClarkeDecisions about follow-up appointments are for the clinical judgment of the doctor concerned. I am not convinced that an investigation by the Department is justified, though we are always ready to consider specific evidence about ways in which performance can be improved.