§ Mr. Dewarasked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will give the number of patients in Scotland who were on National Health Service waiting lists for (a) urgent treatment and (b) non-urgent treatment for each year since 1979.
§ Mr. RifkindInformation distinguishing urgent and non-urgent cases is not held centrally. 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 82,937 1985 *78,303 * Provisional. The increase in waiting lists caused 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. Lists exclude altogether the significant numbers of patients who are admitted directly into hospitals without being at any stage included in waiting lists.
262WOver the same period, the corresponding QPI for the non-university sector has increased from 41.6 to 47.1.