§ Mr. Farrasked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) to what extent mental establishments are protected by the provision of sprinklers in England;
(2) to what extent sprinkler protection is used in National Health Service hospitals in England;
(3) to what extent local authority homes for the elderly are protected by sprinklers in England.
§ Mr. John PattenSprinklers are not commonly provided in health care premises in England, because sprinklers primarily intended for life protection purposes have only recently become available. The Department and all interested parties, including the British Automatic Sprinklers Association, are assessing the use of these sprinklers in health care premises, and a trial system has been installed in a hospital for this purpose.
Number of persons on inpatient waiting lists for surgical specialties on 30 September. District health authority and surgical specialty 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 Mid Staffordshire General surgery 1,488 1,558 1,494 1,419 1,557 Ear, nose and throat 334 278 121 115 79 Orthopaedics 242 249 174 190 176 Gynaecology 676 661 589 642 214 Total 2,740 2,746 2,378 2,366 2,026 South East Staffordshire General surgery 136 168 134 142 120 Ear, nose and throat 1,007 1,287 1,382 1,041 1,060 Orthopaedics 407 415 393 458 569 Ophthalmology 17 14 14 33 40 Urology 17 30 44 92 156 Oral surgery 9 58 100 49 72 Gynaecology 118 286 271 189 274 Total 1,711 2,258 2,338 2,004 2,291 North Birmingham General surgery 1,273 1,039 651 977 1,079 Ear, nose and throat 160 48 58 115 54