§ Mr. MooreTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many people in Scotland had been waiting over(a) one, (b) three, (c) six and (d) 12 months for cancer surgery on 1 November (i) 1996 and (ii) 1997. [20060]
§ Mr. Galbraith[holding answer 10 December 1997]: The precise information requested is not held centrally since the waiting times data collected nationally do not explicitly identify patients waiting for cancer surgery.
Information is collected nationally on the number of patients who were admitted to hospital from the waiting list with a cancer-related diagnosis and who were later discharged following a surgical procedure. However, cancer-related diagnosis covers a very wide range of surgical treatments, not all of which are of a serious nature. The relevant information for the year ending 31 March 1996 and the latest available for the year ending 31 March 1997 is set out in the table. It should be noted that in the year to 31 March 1997, nearly 60 per cent. of patients who waited more than one month had minor surgical procedures for the bladder or for skin lesions.
Year ended 31 March 1996 Year ended 31 March 19971 Patients waited Over one month 5,567 5,765 Over three months 913 978 Over six months 246 235 Over twelve months 49 22 1Data for year ending 31 March 1997 provisional source:
SMR1, ISD Scotland