§ Tim LoughtonTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many tonsil operations have been cancelled in the last 12 months; how many patients are waiting for tonsil operations; what the average waiting time is for tonsil operations; if he will make a statement on the effectiveness of single-use tonsillectomy instruments in the NHS; and what supplies of single-use tonsillectomy instruments are held by the NHS and how widely they are distributed. [12601]
§ Mr. HuttonThe number of cancellations by procedure is not collected.
Data are collected on the number of patients waiting for tonsillectomy and adenoidectomies, but tonsillectomies cannot be identified separately. The following table shows the number of patients waiting for tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy operations at the end of August 2001.
Months England 6–8 7,299 9–11 4,078 12–14 1,854 15–17 710 18+ 177 Total waiting 44,576 Source:
Department of Health waiting list statistics.
The average waiting times in national service hospitals in England for tonsillectomies are given in the table.
116W
Year Median days 1995–96 128 1996–97 116 1997–98 127 1998–99 147 1999–2000 118 Source:
Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), Department of Health
All surgical instruments used in tonsillectomy operations are Conformitte Europeane marked under the provisions of the Medical Devices Regulations and as such are considered fit for their intended purpose. Any breach of these Regulations would be investigated by the Medial Devices Agency's Compliance Unit and action taken as needed. During the summer there were reports of an increase in the rates of secondary haemorrhage at a number of centres following tonsil and adenoid surgery. This was investigated by the MDA who found that in some cases the diathermy used to close the wound was set at too high a power setting, and the instruments being used were in some cases inappropriate for this site. On 10 October the MDA issued advice to the health service to address these problems.
The NHS Logistics Authority holds sufficient stock to deliver enough single use instruments to perform 10,000 tonsil and adenoid operations each month. 5,000 equivalent operations were performed in October 2000. Any NHS Trust in England can order the single use instruments from the NHS Logistics Authority. The lead-time for delivery is 48 hours for standard service. Faster delivery can be arranged if required.