HC Deb 09 February 1994 vol 237 cc324-5W
Mr. Bayley

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list for each health authority in England as at July 1993, whether it had published a guaranteed maximum waiting time for patients seeking(a) hip and knee replacements and (b) cataract removals; and what waiting times were guaranteed by each authority that had done so.

Dr. Mawhinney

Under the patients charter, local health authorities are expected to make available detailed information on health services, including quality standards and maximum waiting times. Local standards are not monitored separately, but as a minimum all must meet the national guarantee that all patients waiting for a hip or knee replacement or a cataract operation are treated within 18 months.