§ Mrs. EwingTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the average waiting time for(a) an initial appointment with and (b) treatment by an NHS orthodontist. [74906]
§ Mr. DenhamMost orthodontic treatment is undertaken in general dental practice and information is not held centrally on waiting times for such treatment. Provisional figures for 1997–98 show that the average waiting time in the orthodontic specialty for those treated in National Health Service hospitals in England was 72.3 days for the 2,266 elective admissions in that year. In addition, the following data was collected from NHS trusts in England for the quarter ended 31 December 1998 on the time waited for first outpatient appointments with an NHS consultant orthodontist following general practitioner written referral.
GP written referrals Percentage Within 4 weeks 13 Within 13 weeks 50 Within 26 weeks 80