§ Mr. Dewarasked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will give for each year since 1979 and for each health board the ratio of National Health Service beds to patients on waiting lists.
§ Mr. RifkindThe information is as follows:
§ 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. RifkindInformation distinguishing urgent and non-urgent cases is not held centrally. 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 1984 85 The increase in 1983 reflects the effect of industrial action of 1982. The 1985 statistics are not yet available.