§ 46. Mr. Nealeasked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he is yet satisfied with the drop in hospital waiting lists.
§ Mr. John PattenWaiting lists, particularly in some areas and some specialties, are still too long, but we are making progress. At 30 September 1984 the waiting list for inpatient treatment stood at some 683,000. That is almost 70,000 less than at March 1979. It would have been lower still but for the industrial action in 1982.