§ Mr. RedmondTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will publish by health authority and specialty the waiting lists for in-patient and out-patient treatment for 31 March 1992 and for 31 March 1989.
§ Mr. SackvilleInformation about waiting times for in-patients by district health authority and specialty, is given in "Hospital Waiting List, In-Patients and Day Cases" published every six months, copies of which are available in the Library.
Information about waiting times for first out-patient appointment is not collected Centrally. However, all health authorities are required under the patients charter to publish information on the local standards they have set for first out-patient appointments and on performance against targets.
§ Mr. RedmondTo ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what guidelines she has issued to health authorities regarding the appropriate waiting time for a first opthalmic out-patient appointment;
(2) if she will introduce into the patients charter a standard for waiting time for a first out-patient appointment.
§ Mr. SackvilleUnder the patients charter, health authorities are already setting local standards for waiting times for first out-patient appointments and regional health authorities have been asked to set targets to build on this progress.