§ Mr. Laurence RobertsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average length of time patients waited to receive(a) digital and (b) other hearing aids was (i) in the United Kingdom and (ii) in Gloucestershire in the last 12 months; and if he will make a statement. [158880]
§ Mr. Hutton[holding answer 26 April 2001]: The Department does not collect information on waiting times for hearing aids as it collects data only on consultant-led specialities, and waiting for an appointment for a hearing aid to be fitted is not always consultant-led. Information is available for audiology which covers other things within that speciality. Data are collected for ear, nose and throat and audiological medicine, but this is not specific to hearing aids. These are shown in the table.
Average (median) out-patient waiting times in weeks for ENT and audiological medicine Specialty Quarter ENT Audiological medicine Data for England March 2000 10.00 11.44 June 2000 8.83 10.91 September 2000 9.49 11.67 December 2000 9.33 11.29 Data for Gloucestershire HA (QDY) March 2000 8.15 1— June 2000 7.77 1— September 2000 8.15 1— December 2000 7.69 1— 1 No data Note:
The out-patient average should he treated as an approximation only. This is because it is calculated from data split into four timebands. It is calculated as the median waiting time (in weeks) of those seen for a first out-patient appointment during the quarter following a GP referral.
Source:
QMO8R quarterly waiting times return