§ Virginia BottomleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many and what percentage of patients waiting for in-patient treatment have been waiting for more than one year(a) at the latest date available and (b) in May 1997 in each health authority. [2834]
§ Mr. HuttonThe information requested is shown in the table. Waiting time information was not collected on a monthly basis in 1997 and so we have provided figures for the nearest date for which we have data.
In 1997 we promised to reduce waiting lists by 100,000. We have done this and today there are 125,000 fewer patients waiting for in-patient treatment than when we came into power. We are going to build on this. As part of our NHS Plan the National Health Service is working to reduce the maximum waiting time for admission to hospital from 18 months today to six months by the end of 2005. By the same date the maximum waiting time for an out-patient appointment will be reduced from over six months today to three months.
669W
May 2001 June 1997 Health authority Number of over 12 month waiters Percentage of over 12 month waiters Number of over 12 month waiters Percentage of over 12 month waiters North Derbyshire 55 0.7 1,204 11.0 Southern Derbyshire 212 1.7 663 5.3 Doncaster 9 0.2 47 0.8 Leicestershire 364 2.3 371 2.2 Lincolnshire 561 3.6 1,767 8.7 North Nottinghamshire 60 0.8 269 2.9 Nottingham 195 1.8 1,122 8.1 Rotherham 8 0.2 119 2.4 Sheffield 60 0.6 724 6.1 Bury and Rochdale 258 2.8 162 1.6 North Cheshire 717 8.2 269 2.9 South Cheshire 622 4.4 978 5.6 East Lancashire 154 1.2 109 0.8 North West Lancashire 171 1.5 262 2.0 North and Mid Hampshire 530 5.0 402 3.7 Southampton and South West Hampshire 1,011 7.3 1,252 7.7 Somerset 357 3.1 91 0.8 South and West Devon 783 5.8 101 0.7 Wiltshire 745 6.0 779 5.5 Avon 1,436 6.8 1,689 7.1 Birmingham 238 1.6 55 0.3 Wigan and Bolton 484 3.6 378 2.3 Wirral 128 2.5 89 1.5 Bradford 88 0.8 564 5.0 County Durham and Darlington 94 0.8 66 0.5 East Riding and Hull 321 2.8 475 3.7 Gateshead and South Tyneside 43 0.6 138 1.5 Leeds 367 2.6 249 1.7 Newcastle and North Tyneside 112 1.5 207 2.2 North Cumbria 188 2.6 312 3.5 South Humber 37 0.5 893 9.1 Northumberland 56 1.1 65 1.1 Sunderland 38 0.6 29 0.4 Tees 104 1.0 17 0.1 Wakefield 173 2.5 220 2.7 North Yorkshire 168 1.3 170 1.1 Calderdale and Kirklees 148 1.3 142 1.2 Cornwall and Isles of Scilly 685 5.4 200 1.6 Dorset 12 0.1 4 0.0 North and East Devon 689 6.2 425 3.5 Gloucestershire 131 1.6 45 0.5 Coventry 77 1.6 10 0.2 Dudley 80 1.6 16 0.3 Herefordshire 107 3.8 85 2.7 Sandwell 28 0.6 3 0.1 Shropshire 280 3.8 19 0.3 Solihull 21 0.6 8 0.3 North Staffordshire 225 4.0 200 2.9 South Staffordshire 721 5.8 64 0.5 Walsall 27 1.0 7 0.2 Warwickshire 73 0.7 21 0.2 Wolverhampton 43 1.2 92 1.8 Worcestershire 414 4.3 111 1.2 Cambridgeshire 603 4.2 1— 1— Norfolk 994 5.3 1— 1— Isle of Wight, Portsmouth and South East Hampshire 1,040 7.0 1— 1— Barnet, Enfield and Haringey 1.040 6.7 1— 1— Hertfordshire 1,353 6.5 1— 1— Bexley, Bromley and Greenwich 839 6.2 1— 1— 1 These health authorities did not exist in 1997 Source:
QF01 quarterly returns