The information requested is shown in the following table:
As at March each year Median wait (weeks) 1997 13.2 1998 14.9 1999 12.9 2000 12.9 2001 12.6 2002 12.7 2003 11.9 2004 10.2 2005 8.5 2006 7.3 2007 6.2 2008 4.5 2009 4.0 Notes: 1. Figures shown relate to March each year, and are a snapshot of the median wait of patients waiting at the end of each period. The latest data available are for January 2010, and this figure shows the median wait of those still waiting at the end of that month of 5.0 weeks. March 2010 data will be published on 30 April 2010 2. It should be noted that median waits in the winter months historically tend to be higher than other months. We would therefore expect the median at March 2010 to be lower than five weeks as shown in January 2010. Source: Department, of Health, QF01, MMRCOM