§ Mr. Dobsonasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what percentage of patients requiring in-patient treatment are treated immediately and what percentage go on National Health Service waiting lists; of those on waiting lists, what percentage are treated within one month, three months, six months, nine months and 12 months, respectively; and if he will give these figures for each region and each speciality.
§ Mr. John Patten[pursuant to his reply, 21 July 1983, c. 207]: The latest available information on admissions to NHS hospitals is published in the hospital in-patient inquiry summary tables for 1979, based on a one in 10 sample of patients in non-psychiatric hospitals in England and Wales. 49.5 per cent. of patients in the sample were admitted immediately and 27.1 per cent. from waiting lists. The remaining 23.4 per cent. includes patients transferred from other hospitals and those admitted on previously booked admission dates.
Information on waiting times of patients admitted from waiting lists by region and specialty is given in the following tables.
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Admissions within stated time as percentage of all admissions from waiting lists Speciality Under 29 days Under 92 days Under 183 days Under 273 days Under 366 days Urology 29.7 62.1 81.6 90.4 94.9 Plastic surgery 24.2 47.7 63.4 72.5 80.1 Thoracic surgery 58.3 79.9 89.5 94.1 96.5 Oral surgery 19.0 50.1 73.8 86.0 92.3 Orthodontics 5.6 61.1 77.8 83.3 88.9 Neurosurgery 37.4 62.4 72.4 76.2 77.1 Gynaecology 35.2 66.5 83.4 91.0 94.8 General Practitioner, Dental 36.6 73.2 85.4 92.3 97.6 General Practitioner, Other 24.4 57.6 76.3 83.6 90.4 Other Specialist Units 45.4 74.9 87.3 91.2 92.6 All specialities except maternity 33.0 61.5 78.7 87.1 91.7 Note: The figures in italics are based on a small sample and may not be reliable.
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