HC Deb 17 December 2002 vol 396 c785W
Mrs. Calton

To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what percentage of genito-urinary medicine clinics are able to see urgent cases within 24 hours; [86567]

(2) if he will make a statement on access to genitourinary open access clinics and waiting time for genitourinary clinics.—186568]

Ms Blears

Central data on genito-urinary medicine (GUM) clinic waiting times are available only for patients referred by general practitioners. GUM is an open access service and the vast majority of patients self-refer and therefore these data do not provide an accurate picture of waiting times for these services. One of the action points in the sexual health and HIV strategy implementation action plan is to develop a waiting times indicator for GUM and work on this is already under way. However, we are aware that there are pressures on GUM clinics which have led to long waiting times for some services. We have therefore invested over £5 million this year to improve capacity and reduce waiting times.