§ 16. Mr. Ronnie CampbellTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the total number of persons currently on waiting lists for hospital in-patient treatment.
§ Mrs. Virginia BottomleyAt 31 March 1990, the latest available date, there were 710,253 people waiting for 147W in-patient treatment in England, excluding those who had asked for their admission to be deferred. This is 6 per cent. less than in 1979. Furthermore, in the 12 months to March 1990 the number waiting over a year for in-patient treatment fell by 9 per cent. and 5 per cent. fewer people now wait over a year than in 1979.
§ Mr. VazTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the total number of persons currently on waiting lists for hospital in-patient treatment.
§ Mrs. Virginia BottomleyAt 30 September 1990, the latest available information, there were 705,706 people waiting for in-patient treatment, excluding those who had asked for their admission to be deferred. It is the time individual patients wait that matters, not the total number on the list. In the 12 months to March 1990 the number waiting over one year for in-patient treatment fell by 9 per cent. and by a further 2 per cent. in the following six months to September 1990.