§ Mrs. BeckettTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the performance of hospitals in meeting the patients charter target for trolley waits. [40802]
§ Mr. SackvilleSince April 1995 there has been a patients charter standard that a patient admitted to hospital via an accident and emergency department can expect to be given a bed a soon as possible, and certainly within four hours. From April 1996 this standard will be improved to two hours. Information relating to performance on this standard will become available in due course.