§ Mr. Gareth WardellTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) which hospital in Scotland has the longest waiting list for arthritic hip joint surgery; which has the lowest waiting period for arthritic hip joint surgery; and if he will specify the number of waiting days for each;
(2) which hospital in Scotland has the longest waiting period for varicose veins surgery; which has the lowest waiting period for varicose veins surgery; and if he will specify the number of waiting days for each;
(3) which hospital in Scotland has the longest waiting list for hernia operations; which has the lowest waiting period for hernia operations; and if he will specify the number of waiting days for each.
§ Mr. Michael ForsythInformation on waiting times for individual operations is collected centrally on an annual basis. That for 1988, the last year for which statistics are available, revealed the following:
- (a) Raigmore hospital, Inverness (Highland health board) had the longest median wait of 214 days for operations which are performed on arthritic hip joints. Stirling royal infirmary (Forth Valley health hoard) had the lowest median wait of 51 days.
- (b) Victoria hospital, Kirkcaldy (Fife health board) has the longest median wait of 803 days for varicose vein operations. Dr. Grays hospital, Elgin (Grampian health board) had the lowest median wait of 43 days.
- (c) Glasgow royal infirmary (Greater Glasgow health board) had the longest median wait of 124 days for hernia operations. Stracathro hospital, Brechin (Tayside health board) had the lowest median wait of 19 days.
In all three instances, hospitals with less than 50 such cases were excluded.