§ Mr. MallonTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment he has made of the average waiting periods experienced by(a) patients whose services are purchased by their local health board and (b) patients of GP fundholders. [3957]
§ Mr. MossThe table shows the number of people admitted as in-patients during the period 1 April 1995 to 31 March 1996 and the length of time they had waited. The average waiting time is not calculable because information on patient waiting times is grouped into time bands and is not measured individually.
443W
You will also be interested to know that waiting lists and waiting times generally have been reduced considerably since 1992. For example, in that year, about 3,000 patients were waiting two years or more for two years while there were 800 waiting more than 18 months. The number of patients treated has raisen continually over the same period from a total number of 330,000—ordinary admissions and day cases —in 1991–92 to 400,000 approximately in 1995–96.
Purchaser Waiting time in months Eastern board Northern board Southern board Western board GP fundholders 0 to 2 31,581 19,077 20,690 12,347 21,315 3 to 5 4,847 3,301 2,332 1,543 3,970 6 to 8 2,242 1,204 871 562 1,641 9 to 11 1,460 695 475 379 960 12 to 14 746 435 305 240 440 15 to 17 394 136 107 56 180 18 to 20 177 61 55 43 68 21 to 23 61 31 28 17 30 24+ 147 61 69 39 74 No date decided to admit recorded 4,394 1,461 929 375 1,679 Total 46,049 26,162 25,861 15,601 30,357
§ Mr. MallonTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what were the average waiting periods experienced by(a) patients whose services are purchased by each of the health boards and (b) patients of general practitioner fundholders for (i) Northern Ireland, (ii) each health board area and (iii) each hospital trust area. [3958]
§ Mr. MossThe tables show the number of people admitted as in-patients during the period 1 April 1995 to 31 March 1996 in Northern Ireland and how long they had waited. The average waiting time is not calculable because information on patient waiting times is grouped in time bands and is measured individually.
(a) Patients of health and social services boards Purchaser Waiting time in months Northern Ireland EHSSB NHSSB SHSSB WHSSB 0 to 2 83,695 31,581 19,077 20,690 12,347 3 to 5 12,023 4,847 3,301 2,332 1,543 6 to 8 4,879 2,242 1,204 871 562 9 to 11 3,009 1,460 695 475 379 12 to 14 1,726 746 435 305 240 15 to 17 693 394 136 107 56 18 to 20 336 177 61 55 43 21 to 23 137 61 31 28 17 24+ 316 147 61 69 39 No date decided to admit recorded 7,159 4,394 1,461 929 375 Total 113,973 46,049 26,462 25,861 15,061 Hospitals trusts do not have a designated geographical area and therefore the information is not available.
(b) Patients of general practitioner fundholders Waiting time in months Purchaser Northern Ireland 0 to 2 21,315 3 to 5 3,970 6 to 8 1,641 9 to 11 960 12 to 14 440 15 to 17 180 18 to 20 68 21 to 23 30 24+ 74 No date decided to admit recorded 1,679 Total 30,357