§ Mr. Dewarasked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will give the number of patients in Scotland who are 39W on National Health Service waiting lists for (a)urgent treatment and (b)non-urgent treatment; and what were the numbers in each category for each year since 1979.
§ Mr. YoungerThis information is not available in precisely the form requested. The numbers on waiting lists in Scotland at 30 September in the years in question were as follows:
Year Numbers 1979 70,970 1980 67,180 1981 65,024 1982 86,179 1983 88,213 1984 *83,061 *Provisional. The increase in waiting lists casused by industrial action in 1982 is now being steadily reduced. Lists tend to overstate numbers of patients waiting for treatment since they include duplicated entries and patients who no longer need treatment.
§ Mr. Dewarasked the Secretary of State for Scotland what was the average waiting time for National Health Service patients in Scotland requiring (a) urgent treatment and (b) non-urgent treatment in each year since 1979.
§ Mr. YoungerThis information is not available in precisely the form requested. The mean waiting times (in days) for all in-patient treatment in Scotland in the years in question were as follows:
Year Days 1979 79 1980 75 1981 73 1982 67 1983 98 The increase in 1983 reflects the effect of industrial action of 1982.
The 1984 statistics are not yet available.