Audiologists

Mr. Tyrie
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the waiting times for audiology treatment are in (a) West Sussex and (b) England.

Mr. Ivan Lewis
The Department does not collect waiting time information for fitting and treatment in audiology services. Since January 2006 waiting time data has been collected for pure tone audiometry  (PTA) diagnostic tests and the most recent information from July 2006 was published on 13 September. Information on England and West Sussex for PTA diagnostic tests is contained in the following table.

A trajectory has been set to deliver audiology diagnostic tests within 13 weeks by March 2007 and 6 weeks by December 2008. A national audiology action plan is being developed that will include action on waiting times.

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|                  |Total waiting|Number waiting 13+ weeks|Number waiting 26+ weeks|
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|National Summary  |128,082      |81,346                  |58,038                  |
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|Western Sussex PCT|127          |61                      |31                      |
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