HC Deb 26 October 1998 vol 318 c69W
Dr. Lynne Jones

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the current waiting time for urgent cardiac surgery broken down by health authority area; how many people in each area are waiting for cardiac surgery; and what proportion is considered to be in urgent need. [56024]

Mr. Boateng

Information on the number of residents of each English health authority waiting for hospital admission by specialty, including cardiothoracic surgery and cardiology, is published quarterly inHospital Waiting List Statistics: England (Resident Based), copies of which are available in the Library. Decisions about the urgency with which patients need to be treated are taken locally by individual clinicians.