To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the average waiting time period specified by each health authority for providers of health services to carry out non-urgent elective surgery in (a) 1996–97 and (b) 1997–98. [10812]
Health authorities contract for maximum, not average, waiting times for elective treatment. In most cases, they do not specify maximum waiting times for non-urgent, as opposed to urgent, elective treatment. Nor do they specify maximum waiting times for surgery as distinct from other in-patient treatment. Contracted maximum waiting times for admission to hospital for 1996–97 and 1997–98 are shown in the table. Where a range of times is shown, this indicates different maximum waiting times for different providers or specialties.
| align="center">Contracted maximum waiting times | ||
| 1996–97 | 1997–98 | |
| Anglia and Oxford | ||
| Bedfordshire | 12 months | 15 months |
| Berkshire | 12 months | 12–15 months |
| Buckinghamshire | 12 months | 15 months |
| Cambridge and Huntingdon | 12 months | 12–15 months |
| East Norfolk | 12 months | 12–15 months |
| Northamptonshire | 12 months | 12–15 months |
| align="center">Contracted maximum waiting times | ||
1996–97
| 1997–98
| |
| North West Anglia | 12 months | 12–15 months |
| Oxfordshire | 12 months | 12–15 months |
| Suffolk | ||
North Thames
| ||
| Barking and Havering | 12 months | 15–18 months |
| Barnet | 12 months | 18 months |
| Brent and Harrow | 12 months | 18 months |
| Camden and Islington | 12 months | 12 months |
| Ealing, Hammersmith and Hounslow | 18 months | 18 months |
| East London and The City | 12–15 months | 6–18 months |
| East and North Hertfordshire | 12 months | 12–18 months |
| Enfield and Haringey | 12 months | 18 months |
| Hillingdon | 12 months | 12 months |
| Kensington, Chelsea and Westminster | 12 months | 6–9 months |
| North Essex | 12 months | 18 months |
| Redbridge and Waltham Forest | 18 months | 18 months |
| South Essex | 12 months | 18 months |
| West Hertfordshire | 12 months | 18 months |
North West
| ||
| Bury and Rochdale | 12 months | 12 months |
| East Lancashire | 12 months | 12 months |
| Liverpool | 12 months | 12 months |
| Manchester | 12 months | 12 months |
| Morecambe Bay | 12 months | 12 months |
| North Cheshire | 12 months | 12 months |
| North West Lancashire | 12 months | 12 months |
| Salford and Trafford | 12 months | 12 months |
| Sefton | 12 months | 12 months |
| St. Helen's and Knowsley | 12 months | 12 months |
| South Cheshire | 12 months | 12 months |
| South Lancashire | 12 months | 12 months |
| Stockport | 12 months | 12 months |
| West Pennine | 12 months | 12 months |
| Wigan and Bolton | 12 months | 12 months |
| Wirral | 12 months | 12–18 months |
Northern and Yorkshire
| ||
| Bradford | 12 months | 12 months |
| Calderdale and Kirklees | 12 months | 12 months |
| County Durham | 12 months | 12 months |
| East Riding | 12 months | 12 months |
| Gateshead and South Tyneside | 12 months | 12 months |
| Leeds | 12 months | 12 months |
| Newcastle and North Tyneside | 12 months | 12months |
| North Cumbria | 12 months | 12 months |
| Northumberland | 12 months | 12 months |
| North Yorkshire | 12 months | 12 months |
| Sunderland | 12 months | 12 months |
| Tees | 12 months | 12 months |
| Wakefield | 12 months | 12 months |
South Thames
| ||
| Bexley and Greenwich | 12 months | 18 months |
| Bromley | 12 months | 12 months at most providers |
| Croydon | 12 months | 15 months at most providers |
| East Kent | 12 months | 12 months at most providers |
| East Surrey | 12 months | 9–18 months |
| East Sussex | 12 months | 12–18 months |
| Kingston and Richmond | 18 months | 18 months |
| Lambeth, Southwark and Lewisham | 18 months | 18 months |
| Merton, Sutton and Wandsworth | 12 months | 18 months |
| West Kent | 12 months | 15 months at most providers |
| align="center">Contracted maximum waiting times | ||
1996–97
| 1997–98
| |
| West Surrey | 12 months | 18 months at most providers |
| West Sussex | 12 months | 18 months |
South and West
| ||
| Avon | 10–15 months | 12 months |
| Cornwall and Isles of Scilly | 9 months | 9 months |
| Dorset | 6 months | 6 months |
| Gloucestershire | 9–12 months | 9 months |
| Isle of Wight | 10 months | 15 months |
| North and East Devon | 12 months | 15 months |
| North and Mid Hampshire | 12–18 months | 12–18 months |
| Portsmouth and South East Hampshire | 6 months | 12 months |
| Somerset | 12 months | 12 months |
| Southampton and South West Hampshire | 9–14 months | 12–15 months |
| South and West Devon | 12 months | 9 months |
| Wiltshire | 12 months | 12–15 months |
Trent
| ||
| Barnsley | 12–18 months | 12–18 months |
| Doncaster | 12–18 months | 12–18 months |
| Leicestershire | 12 months | 12–18 months |
| Lincolnshire | 12 months | 12–18 months |
| North Derbyshire | 12 months | 12–18 months |
| North Nottinghamshire | 12 months | 12–18 months |
| Nottingham | 12 months | 12–18 months |
| Rotherham | 12 months | 12–18 months |
| Sheffield | 12–18 months | 12–18 months |
| South Derbyshire | 12 months | 12–18 months |
| South Humber | 12 months | 12–18 months |
West Midlands
| ||
| Birmingham | 9 months | 9 months |
| Coventry | 9 months | 9 months |
| Dudley | 6 months | 6 months (with some specialty variations) |
| Herefordshire | 6 months | 9 months |
| North Staffordshire | 9 months | 9–15 months |
| Sandwell | 9 months | 6–9 months |
| Shropshire | 9 months | 9 months |
| Solihull | 9 months | 9 months |
| South Staffordshire | 9 months | 9–12 months |
| Walsall | 6 months | 9 months |
| Warwickshire | 9 months | 9 months |
| Wolverhampton | 9 months | 9 months |
| Worcestershire | 9 months | 9 months |