§ Mr. WilkinsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the average waiting times for cleft lip and palate surgery for children in Greater London in each year since 2000. [136067]
1413W
§ Mr. Hutton[holding answer issued 6 November 2003]The information requested is shown in the table.
Main Operation (OPCS4 F03, F29) Correction of Deformity of Lip or Palate London Regional Office of Residence Age on Admission 0–17 Years Count of Finished In year Admission Episodes (Waiting List and Booked Cases) and Average Time Waited NHS Hospitals 2000–01 and 2001–02 2000–01 2001–02 Main Operation Admissions Mean Time waited (days) Admissions Mean Time wait (days) F03 Correction of Deformity of Lip 60 70.6 81 79.1 F29 Correction of Deformity of Palate 66 77.1 56 88.6 Overall Figures 126 74.0 137 83.0 Notes
Admissions
Admissions are defined as the first period of in-patient care under one consultant within one healthcare provider. Please note that admissions do not represent the number of in-patients, as a person may have more than one admission within the year.
Grossing
Figures are grossed for both coverage and missing/invalid clinical data, except for 2001–02 which is not yet adjusted for shortfalls.
Main Operation
The main operation is the first recorded operation in the HES data set, and is usually the most resource intensive procedure performed during the episode. It is appropriate to use main operation when looking at admission details, e.g. Time Waited, but the figures for "all operations count of episodes" give a more complete count of episodes with operations.
Time Waited
Time waited statistics from Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) are not the same as the published waiting list statistics. HES provides counts and time waited for all patients admitted to hospital within a given period whereas the published waiting list statistics count those waiting for treatment on a specific date and how long they have been on the waiting list. Also, HES calculates the time waited as the difference between the admission and decision to admit dates. Unlike published waiting list statistics, this is not adjusted for self-deferrals or periods of medical/social suspension.
Source
Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), Department of Health.