asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will give the average waiting time for each regional hospital board in England for an operation for varicose veins; what is the waiting time for National Health Service patients and private patients under the National Health Service; and if he will make a statement.
Staffordshire, South-East Staffordshire, Rugby, North Warwickshire, South Warwickshire, Central Birmingham, East Birmingham, North Birmingham, South Birmingham, West Birmingham, Coventry, Dudley, Sandwell, Solihull, Walsall and Wolverhampton.
Information in the form requested is not held centrally, but the figures available are as follows:
The following table shows the average waiting times, based on a one in 10 sample of National Health Service patients, for in-patient operations on all veins in 1978—the latest year for which figures are available. They do not include waiting times for day surgery, and separate figures for varicose veins are not collected. The regions shown are those of the patients' residence.
| Region | Mean waiting time in weeks |
| Northern | 24·8 |
| Yorkshire | 30·2 |
| Trent | 57·0 |
| East Anglian | 47·3 |
| North West Thames | 23·9 |
| North East Thames | 28·1 |
| South East Thames | 27·8 |
| South West Thames | 27·0 |
| Wessex | 39·0 |
| Oxford | 36·7 |
| South Western | 49·0 |
| West Midlands | 40·4 |
| Mersey | 21·0 |
| North Western | 45·1 |
| England | 35·7 |
asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will given an assessment of days lost from work by patients waiting for varicose vein operations; if he will given an estimate of the total cost as well as an estimate of individual costs; and if he will make a statement.
In the year ended 31 May 1980, the latest for which figures are available, the number of days of certified incapacity recorded as being due to varicose veins of the lower extremities was 1,432,700. The number of these which were accounted for by patients awaiting operations is not recorded.