§ Mr. Dobsonasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what action he is taking to meet the demand for hip replacements.
§ Mr. WhitneyHealth authorities have been informed that Ministers regard joint replacement as one of the main priorities for the development of services in the acute sector. The latest available statistics show that in 1983 there were some 9,000 more hip replacement operations than in 1978, an increase of over 30 per cent.
§ Mr. Dobsonasked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many patients needing hip replacement are awaiting treatment; and what is the average length of wait.
§ Mr. WhitneyInformation on the numbers of people awaiting admission to National Health Service hospitals for particular operations is not available centrally. The estimated median interval between the date a patient was placed on the waiting list and the date of admission to a National Health Service hospital for total hip replacement or other arthroplasty of hip in England in 1983, the latest year for which informaton is available centrally, was 24 weeks.