HC Deb 09 March 1988 vol 129 cc240-1W
Mr. Robert B. Jones

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services by how much National Health Service waiting lists have changed between 1979 and 1987 in(a) the North West Thames regional health authority and (b) the North West Hertfordshire district health authority.

Mr. Newton

The in-patient waiting list for North West Thames regional health authority has decreased by 9.3 per cent. from 48,503 to 44,007 between 31 March 1979 and 31 March 1987. The in-patient waiting list for North West Hertfordshire district health authority has also decreased over the same period, from 2,743 to 1,544, a fall of 43.7 per cent.

Dr. Owen

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will list the average waiting time for each specialty by regional health authority and the average for England, Wales and Scotland, respectively.

Mr. Newton

The table shows the median interval between the date an in-patient was placed on the waiting list and the date of admission (estimated centrally using a 10 per cent. sample of anortymised hospital records) for those specialties where most of the sample numbers were large enough to give reliable estimates at regional level.

Specialty Wessex Oxford South Western West Midlands Mersey North Western SHA's England
Thoracic Surgery 3 1 4 6 2 1 5 3
Oral Surgery 15 22 20 13 8 13 0 15
Gynaecology 6 7 6 6 6 6 — 6

Mr. Allen

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services what are the hospital waiting list figures for England and by English health regions for September 1987.

Mr. Newton

The September waiting list figures are being compiled now and will be published as soon as possible.

Mr. Allen

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will give the hospital waiting list figures by specialty for the Nottingham district health authority and the Trent region, for the latest available date.

Mr. Newton

The latest available information about NHS waiting lists is contained in the summary booklet, "Hospital in-patient waiting list—England at 31 March 1987," a copy of which is in the Library.