§ Mrs. BeckettTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what factors account for recent trends in lengths of waiting lists for NHS hospital treatment. [16947]
§ Mr. MaloneThe number of people waiting for treatment has remained at around 10 per cent. of the number of patients treated for over 20 years. Our policy is to ensure that waiting times for treatment are reduced. Nearly half of patients have a waiting time of less than five weeks. In 1987 more than 200,000 were waiting over a year; in December 1994 fewer than 55,000 were waiting over a year. This success has been achieved by a combination of increased activity and better management of specialities with waiting lists.