§ Mr. Austin Mitchellasked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) how long is the waiting list by health region for the treatment of torn and detached retinas;
(2) what is the average length of delay by region in cases of impaired vision between (a) seeing a general practitioner under the National Health Service and (b) seeing a consultant and undergoing surgery for a torn or detached retina.
§ Mr. Kenneth ClarkeI have no evidence of any significant delays for any patients in obtaining treatment in the National Health Service for torn or detached retinas.
Only 16.5 per cent. of the patients treated in hospital in 1980 for retinal detachments and defects had been placed on a waiting list at all. All such patients would normally be admitted to hospital as an emergency, and in these circumstances time spent awaiting admission is not recorded. Information about the time it takes to see a consultant after being referred by a general practitioner is
Number of persons on in-patient waiting lists at 31 March 1983 Urgent Non-Urgent District Health Authority All cases Cases on list for more than one month All cases Cases on list for more than one year Total cases Basildon and Thurrock 485 387 6,045 2,943 6,530 Mid Essex 190 37 3,074 624 3,264 North East Essex 203 47 2,996 574 3,199 West Essex 2 — 3,095 410 3,097 Southend 595 302 2,669 733 3,264 Barking, Havering, Brentwood 158 120 4,505 941 4,663 Hampstead 30 22 1,686 398 1,716 Bloomsbury 238 70 10,874 1,300 11,112 Islington 225 118 926 114 1,151 City and Hackney 1,058 776 3,799 747 4,857 Newham 181 140 1,819 251 2,000 Tower Hamlets 1,391 1,191 4,437 1,951 5,828 Enfield 29 7 2,789 821 2,818 Haringey 119 49 1,337 234 1,456 Redbridge 38 19 1,671 149 1,709 Waltham Forest 96 28 3,621 973 3,717