§ Mr. Ashleyasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is the waiting time for (a) outpatient appointments and (b) in patient treatment in the ear, nose and throat specialities in (1) the United Kingdom, (2) England and (3) each of the Thames regions; and what has been the change in each over the previous year.
§ Mr. WhitneyI am sorry I cannot give the right hon. Member all the information he seeks. Information on the waiting time in England for outpatient consultation is not held centrally, and statistics for the rest of the United Kingdom are a matter for my right hon. Friends the Secretary of State for Scotland, for Wales and for Northern Ireland. The estimated median interval between the date a patient was placed on the waiting list and the date of admission to ear, nose and throat departments in National Health Service hospitals is given in the table for the latest two years for which figures are available centrally. 81W
NHS hospitals, ear, nose and throat inpatient departments. Regional Health Authority Estimated median waiting time (in weeks) of waiting list cases Change between 1982 and 1983* (in weeks) 1982 1983 North West Thames 9 9 nil North East Thames 9 11 +2 South East Thames 9 10 +1 South West Thames 11 12 +1 England 11 13 +2 * Waiting times in 1983 were affected by the industrial action in the Health Service in 1982.