§ Mr. CousinsTo ask the Secretary of State for Health which of the recommendations of Inter-Authority Comparisons and Consultancy with regard to the Newcastle plastic surgery waiting list have been acted on; with what result; and at what cost.
§ Mrs. Virginia BottomleyAs recommended by Inter-Authority Comparisons and Consultancy (IACC), Newcastle district health authority employed a locum consultant in plastic surgery for nine months in 1990–91 to undertake additional in-patient, day case and out-patient sessions. This scheme received an allocation of £143,000 from the £12 million reserved for problem lists from the waiting list fund. The district has met the requirements of its contract with IACC. Between April 1990 and March 1991 it reduced the numbers waiting over a year for in-patient and day case plastic surgery by 565 and has treated an additional 422 in-patients and day cases, and 400 out-patients.