HL Deb 14 October 1997 vol 582 cc143-4WA
Baroness Cumberlege

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What was the number of patients waiting over one year for NHS treatment each March since 1970; and

What was the number of patients waiting over one year for NHS treatment each year since 1970.

Position as at: 31 March 31 December
Total number waiting more than 12 months Total number waiting more than 12 months
Ordinary Admissions Day Cases All In-patient Cases Total Number Waiting Ordinary Admissions Day Cases All In-patient Cases Total Number Waiting
1976 147,247 583,851
1977 147,951 595,490
1978 149,011 603,240
1979 185,195 752,422
1980 196,983 664,919
1981 180,774 628,333
1982 175,554 822,480
1983 198,546 726,186
1984 194,614 692,945
1985 171,197 674,453
1986 161,326 673,107
1987 162,273 687,945 185,396 25,265 210,661 873,130
1988 182,161 25,764 207,925 876,246 195,411 28,232 223,643 931,495
1989 193,952 29,359 223,311 922,676 186,112 32,831 218,943 971,845
1990 175,777 32,083 207,860 958,976 158,567 29,248 187,815 965,520
1991 145,109 24,652 169,761 948,243 110,049 20,520 130,569 950,098
1992 69,000 11,585 80,585 817,717 59,450 13,428 72,878 977,189
1993 45,195 11,682 56,877 994,974 55,955 19,152 75,107 1,065,782
1994 45,404 18,104 64,508 1,065,369 38,956 15,878 54,834 1,070,492
1995 21,750 10,444 32,194 1,044,051 14,647 5,839 20,486 1,054,948
1996 3,686 890 4,576 1,048,029 15,337 6,824 22,161 1,104,983
1997 20,732 10,476 31,208 1,158,004

Baroness Jay of Paddington

Such information as is available in respect of patients awaiting admission to National Health Service hospitals in England is given in the following table. Information on the length of time patients have been waiting, as opposed to the total numbers waiting, was not collected prior to 1976. The first available information on day cases was for 30 September 1987. Waiting time information was initially collected twice yearly. Quarterly information has only been collected since September 1987 and therefore the first information available for December is for 1987. Directly comparable information for Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland is not available.