§ Mr. BurstowTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what(a) monitoring and (b) research has been conducted by and for his Department on waiting times for genito-urinary medicine services. [179156]
§ Miss Melanie JohnsonThe Department is currently examining with the Health Protection Agency ways in which data on waiting times at genito-urinary medicine (GUM) clinics can be obtained. Early this year, the Department undertook pilot surveys in a number of GUM clinics where patients were asked to complete a short anonymous questionnaire seeking information on waiting times. These pilots have proved successful and the first full national survey of clinics took place in May this year and are currently being analysed.