Hospital Waiting Lists (Hansard, 1 February 1990)

§ Mr. Barry Jones
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) if he will make it his policy to make available £.4 million to health authorities in Wales to tackle waiting lists; and if he will make a statement;
(2) what new measures he proposes to take to eliminate hospital waiting lists; and if he will make a statement.

§ Mr. Grist
We are concerned that some patients have to wait too long for their treatment, which is why health authorities in Wales have been asked to mount a special initiative to reduce such waiting times through more efficient use of their discretionary resources. Authorities' own efforts have been supported by over £4 million of Welsh Office funding since 1986. These intitatives will be further supplemented this year by three specialist centres to treat those who have been waiting too long for treatments such as cataract removal or hip replacement. Subject to approval of the supply estimates, we plan to make available a total of £2.3 million in 1990–91 on the waiting times and treatment centre initiatives.

§ Mr. Roy Hughes
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) how many people are waiting for in-patient treatment in(a) Wales, (b) Gwent and (c) Newport;
(2) how many people are waiting for non-urgent surgery in (a) Wales, (b) Gwent and (c) Newport;
(3) how many people are waiting for out-patient treatment in (a) Wales, (b) Gwent and (c) Newport;
(4) how many people are waiting for urgent treatment in (a) Wales, (b) Gwent and (c) Newport.
327W

§ Mr. Grist
The available information is shown in the table:

Waiting list as at 31 March 1989

Wales Gwent Newport¹

People waiting for:

In patient treatment 41,964 9,531 5,538

Of which:

Non-urgent surgery 2 37,790 8,377 4,874

Urgent in-patient treatment 3,493 1,124 641

Out-patient consultation 90,745 13,616 7,039

¹ People waiting for treatment/consultation at Royal Gwent and St. Woolos hospitals.

² People waiting for treatment in surgical specialties which are: general surgery; ear, nose and throat; traumatic and orthopaedic surgery; opthalmology; urology; plastic surgery; dental surgery; neurosurgery; gynaecology and cardiac surgery.

§ Mr. Roy Hughes
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what proposals he has to reduce hospital waiting lists in(a) Wales, (b) Gwent and (c) Newport.

§ Mr. Grist
The prime responsibility for reducing hospital waiting lists rests with district health authorities using their discretionary resources. Authorities' efforts have been supported by over £4 million of Welsh Office funding since 1986, of which £866,000 has been spent in Gwent on a scheme for trauma and orthopaedics based at the Royal Gwent hospital, Newport. This year will see three specialist centres to offer patients across Wales the choice of earlier treatment for key disabling conditions. The orthopaedic centre in South Glamorgan and the general surgery centre in Mid Glamorgan should be of particular benefit to patients in Gwent. Subject to approval of the supply estimates, we plan to allocate some £2.3 million to the waiting times and treatment centre initiatives in 1990–91.

Waiting list as at 31 March 1989
	Wales	Gwent	Newport¹
People waiting for:
In patient treatment	41,964	9,531	5,538
Of which:
Non-urgent surgery 2	37,790	8,377	4,874
Urgent in-patient treatment	3,493	1,124	641
Out-patient consultation	90,745	13,616	7,039
¹ People waiting for treatment/consultation at Royal Gwent and St. Woolos hospitals.
² People waiting for treatment in surgical specialties which are: general surgery; ear, nose and throat; traumatic and orthopaedic surgery; opthalmology; urology; plastic surgery; dental surgery; neurosurgery; gynaecology and cardiac surgery.