§ 13. Mr. BattleTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on hospital waiting times in Leeds. [33191]
§ Mr. MaloneWaiting times for in-patient and day case treatment in Leeds have improved considerably over the last year. Only 675 patients out of 13,492 were waiting more than a year for treatment at the two main hospitals this March compared with 2,501 out of 17,252 last March. Along with the rest of the country, Leeds hospitals are working towards achieving the new patient's charter standards for first out-patient appointments so that everyone is seen within 26 weeks of written referral by their general practitioner, with nine out of 10 patients seen within 13 weeks, as soon as possible.