HC Deb 31 July 1997 vol 299 cc608-10W
Mr. Burstow

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the average waiting time period specified by each health authority for providers of health services to carry out non-urgent elective surgery in(a) 1996–97 and (b) 1997–98. [10812]

Mr. Milburn

Health authorities contract for maximum, not average, waiting times for elective treatment. In most cases, they do not specify maximum waiting times for non-urgent, as opposed to urgent, elective treatment. Nor do they specify maximum waiting times for surgery as distinct from other in-patient treatment. Contracted maximum waiting times for admission to hospital for 1996–97 and 1997–98 are shown in the table. Where a range of times is shown, this indicates different maximum waiting times for different providers or specialties.

align="center">Contracted maximum waiting times
1996–97 1997–98
Anglia and Oxford
Bedfordshire 12 months 15 months
Berkshire 12 months 12–15 months
Buckinghamshire 12 months 15 months
Cambridge and Huntingdon 12 months 12–15 months
East Norfolk 12 months 12–15 months
Northamptonshire 12 months 12–15 months

align="center">Contracted maximum waiting times
1996–97 1997–98
North West Anglia 12 months 12–15 months
Oxfordshire 12 months 12–15 months
Suffolk
North Thames
Barking and Havering 12 months 15–18 months
Barnet 12 months 18 months
Brent and Harrow 12 months 18 months
Camden and Islington 12 months 12 months
Ealing, Hammersmith and Hounslow 18 months 18 months
East London and The City 12–15 months 6–18 months
East and North Hertfordshire 12 months 12–18 months
Enfield and Haringey 12 months 18 months
Hillingdon 12 months 12 months
Kensington, Chelsea and Westminster 12 months 6–9 months
North Essex 12 months 18 months
Redbridge and Waltham Forest 18 months 18 months
South Essex 12 months 18 months
West Hertfordshire 12 months 18 months
North West
Bury and Rochdale 12 months 12 months
East Lancashire 12 months 12 months
Liverpool 12 months 12 months
Manchester 12 months 12 months
Morecambe Bay 12 months 12 months
North Cheshire 12 months 12 months
North West Lancashire 12 months 12 months
Salford and Trafford 12 months 12 months
Sefton 12 months 12 months
St. Helen's and Knowsley 12 months 12 months
South Cheshire 12 months 12 months
South Lancashire 12 months 12 months
Stockport 12 months 12 months
West Pennine 12 months 12 months
Wigan and Bolton 12 months 12 months
Wirral 12 months 12–18 months
Northern and Yorkshire
Bradford 12 months 12 months
Calderdale and Kirklees 12 months 12 months
County Durham 12 months 12 months
East Riding 12 months 12 months
Gateshead and South Tyneside 12 months 12 months
Leeds 12 months 12 months
Newcastle and North Tyneside 12 months 12months
North Cumbria 12 months 12 months
Northumberland 12 months 12 months
North Yorkshire 12 months 12 months
Sunderland 12 months 12 months
Tees 12 months 12 months
Wakefield 12 months 12 months
South Thames
Bexley and Greenwich 12 months 18 months
Bromley 12 months 12 months at most providers
Croydon 12 months 15 months at most providers
East Kent 12 months 12 months at most providers
East Surrey 12 months 9–18 months
East Sussex 12 months 12–18 months
Kingston and Richmond 18 months 18 months
Lambeth, Southwark and Lewisham 18 months 18 months
Merton, Sutton and Wandsworth 12 months 18 months
West Kent 12 months 15 months at most providers

align="center">Contracted maximum waiting times
1996–97 1997–98
West Surrey 12 months 18 months at most providers
West Sussex 12 months 18 months
South and West
Avon 10–15 months 12 months
Cornwall and Isles of Scilly 9 months 9 months
Dorset 6 months 6 months
Gloucestershire 9–12 months 9 months
Isle of Wight 10 months 15 months
North and East Devon 12 months 15 months
North and Mid Hampshire 12–18 months 12–18 months
Portsmouth and South East Hampshire 6 months 12 months
Somerset 12 months 12 months
Southampton and South West Hampshire 9–14 months 12–15 months
South and West Devon 12 months 9 months
Wiltshire 12 months 12–15 months
Trent
Barnsley 12–18 months 12–18 months
Doncaster 12–18 months 12–18 months
Leicestershire 12 months 12–18 months
Lincolnshire 12 months 12–18 months
North Derbyshire 12 months 12–18 months
North Nottinghamshire 12 months 12–18 months
Nottingham 12 months 12–18 months
Rotherham 12 months 12–18 months
Sheffield 12–18 months 12–18 months
South Derbyshire 12 months 12–18 months
South Humber 12 months 12–18 months
West Midlands
Birmingham 9 months 9 months
Coventry 9 months 9 months
Dudley 6 months 6 months (with some specialty variations)
Herefordshire 6 months 9 months
North Staffordshire 9 months 9–15 months
Sandwell 9 months 6–9 months
Shropshire 9 months 9 months
Solihull 9 months 9 months
South Staffordshire 9 months 9–12 months
Walsall 6 months 9 months
Warwickshire 9 months 9 months
Wolverhampton 9 months 9 months
Worcestershire 9 months 9 months