HC Deb 21 June 2004 vol 422 cc1238-9W
Mrs. Iris Robinson

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the(a) average and (b) current longest waiting times are for a (i) emergency, (ii) urgent and (iii) routine dermatology assessment in each health trust area. [179071]

Mr. Gardiner

The information on waiting lists and waiting times that is collected centrally is on the basis of time bands. (a) It is not possible to derive an average from this information. (b) The longest wait occurs in the 24+ months time band, (i)—(iii) Information requested is not collected centrally.

Table 1: Number of patients awaiting a first out-patient appointment in the dermatology specialty
Time waiting (months)
Provider Trust 0–2 3–11 12–17 18–23 24+ Total
Belfast City Hospital HSS Trust 974 321 10 0 1 1,306
Down and Lisburn HSS Trust 258 314 124 63 15 774
Mater Infirmorum HSS Trust 105 142 55 66 9 377
The Royal Group of Hospitals HSS Trust 646 614 110 31 65 1,466
Ulster Community and Hospitals HSS Trust 941 1,449 207 245 361 3,203
Causeway HSS Trust 357 579 192 74 0 1,202
United Hospitals HSS Trust 575 395 111 75 57 1,213
Armagh and Dungannon HSS Trust 123 23 0 0 0 146
Craigavon Area Hospital Group HSS Trust 853 283 18 8 1 1,163
Newry and Mourne HSS Trust 439 22 1 0 0 462
Altnagelvin Area Hospitals HSS Trust 1,092 530 1 0 0 1,623
Northern Ireland 6,363 4,672 829 562 509 12,935

Mrs. Iris Robinson

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what steps are being taken to ensure that all multiple sclerosis sufferers who would benefit from beta interferon or glatiramer are receiving that treatment. [179114]

Mr. Gardiner

An additional £3.1 million for the provision of specialist drugs, including £100,000 specifically to provide the infrastructure to treat more people who suffer from Multiple Sclerosis (MS), was allocated to Boards in 2002–03. This funding has been uplifted for inflation and is provided on a recurrent basis. As well as recruiting additional consultants, additional nursing and pharmacy staff have been appointed together with Specialist MS nurses to provide patient education and support.

Currently 511 patients in Northern Ireland are receiving beta interferon treatment and there are around 70 on the waiting list.

My Department will continue to seek additional resources for specialist medicines that offer the potential for significant improvement in patient care.