§ Mr. BurstowTo ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to his answer of 20 November 2000,Official Report, column 55W, concerning waiting times, what (a) estimate has been made of and (b) target set for the number of people waiting over 13 weeks by 2002. [140093]
§ Mr. Denham[holding answer 26 November 2000]: The National Health Service has been set two interim targets for outpatient waiting times for the year 2001–02. First, to reduce the number of patients waiting over 13 weeks. Secondly, to implement a maximum waiting time of 26 weeks for a first consultant appointment.
§ Mr. PaiceTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people were awaiting hospital(a) first consultation and (b) treatment within the NHS on the most recent date for which figures are available; what the average waiting time is for both (a) and (b); and what are the upper and lower percentiles against which these averages are quoted. [140352]
§ Mr. Denham[holding answer 27 November 2000]: Information on the total number of people waiting for a first outpatient appointment is not collected centrally, however the average (median) time waited for a first outpatient appointment during the quarter ended 30 September 2000 was 7.45 weeks.
The lower and upper quartiles are as follows: lower 2.95 weeks; upper 12.78 weeks.
The total number of people waiting for elective admission to a National Health Service trust at 30 September 2000 was 1,031,824. The average (median) time waited by those on the list was 2.96 months.
The lower and upper quartiles are as follows: lower 1.48 months; upper 6.02 months.