To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people were waiting (a) 0–4 weeks, (b) 4–13 weeks, (c) 13–17 weeks, (d) 17–21 weeks, (e) 21–26 weeks and (f) more than 26 weeks from the receipt of a GP written referral request to a first specialty outpatient attendance in (i) pain management and (ii) ophthalmology in each quarter since Quarter 1 of 1996–97 for each NHS trust and primary care trust and for England as a whole. [127025]

The information requested is being held in the Library. Patients still waiting over 26 weeks for first consultant outpatient appointment following general practitioner written referral have reduced from end of quarter 1 1996–97 for the ophthalmology specialty from 4,845 to 3 in quarter 4 2002–03. Prior to quarter 1 1997–98 the pain management specialty was a sub-set of the anaesthetic specialty. For the pain management specialty, the reduction in patients still waiting over 26 weeks was 479 in quarter 1 1997–98 to 0 in quarter 4 2002–03.