§ Mr. MaclennanTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the number of those awaiting a hip replacement operation in each of the health board areas.
§ Mr. Michael ForsythThis information is not available centrally; information is collected only on individual specialties—in this case orthopaedic surgery.
§ Mr. MaclennanTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the average waiting time for a hip replacement operation in each of the health board areas.
§ Mr. Michael ForsythThe mean waiting times for a hip replacement operation in each health board are as follows. These relate to patients who were treated and discharged in 1986, and are the latest available.
Mean waiting time (days) Argyll and Clyde 127.1 Ayrshire and Arran 182.5 Borders 138.0 Dumfries and Galloway 179.6 Fife 196.9 Forth Valley 165.9 Greater Glasgow 126.9 Grampian 214.5 Highland 270.8 Lanarkshire 151.1 Lothian 184.2 Orkney — Shetland — Tayside 252.9 Western Isles — I expect the longest waiting times to be reduced by the additional allocation which I have made for this purpose.