Hospital Waiting Lists

HC Deb 27 June 1988 vol 136 cc78-9W

Mr. Allan Stewart

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what are the most recent available figures for hospital waiting lists in Scotland; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Michael Forsyth

Provisional figures show that on 30 September 1987 77,772 people were awaiting in-patient treatment at NHS hospitals in Scotland. This is a 4.6 per cent. reduction from the March 1987 figure, and a 12 per cent. reduction from the 1983 peak of 88,338 which was caused by industrial action in 1982. Recent disruptive action taken by the trade unions resulted in nearly 3,500 operations being cancelled earlier this year. I have, however, recently taken a series of major initiatives to reduce substantially the time people have to wait for treatment.