§ Mr. Alfred Morrisasked the Secretary of State for Social Services, pursuant to his reply of 24 July, Official Report, column 610, if he will estimate the cost of 242W collecting centrally information about waiting times for hospital accident and emergency departments; and if he will now give consideration to obtaining this information.
§ Mr. John PattenWe do not have a specific estimate, but any addition to the range of information collected by the Department represents some extra burden for health authorities. The total time the patient has to wait will depend upon the urgency of his individual case and that of others presenting at about the same time and on the number of people and procedures involved in assessment and any necessary treatment. We are not satisfied that the value of the information for which the right hon, Member is asking, or the uses to which it could be put, would justify the additional data collection involved.