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Written question asked by Iris Robinson (Democratic Unionist Party) on Tuesday, 31 October 2006, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 2 November 2006. It was answered by Paul Goggins (Labour) on Tuesday, 7 November 2006 on behalf of the Northern Ireland Office.

Paediatric Surgery

Question
(3) how many patients (a) had an initial paediatric surgery out-patient assessment and (b) were admitted to hospital for paediatric surgery out-patient assessment in each of the last five years in each health trust area in the Province.
Answer

The (i) total number of children waiting for (a) paediatric surgery in-patient admission and (b) initial paediatric surgery outpatient assessment (first out-patient appointment) for each applicable health trust at 30 June 2006 is shown in the following table:

Children waiting for paediatric surgery at 30 June 2006
Total waiting for paediatric surgery
HSS trust (a) In-patient admission (b) Out-patient appointment
Royal Group 433 961
Ulster Hospitals 125 241
Total 558 1,202
Source: Departmental Information returns CH1 and CH3

Waiting list information is collected by time band. It is therefore not possible to calculate the arithmetic mean (average) and longest time waiting for plastic surgery in-patient admission or for initial plastic surgery out-patient assessment (first out-patient appointment). It is however possible to identify the median or mid point and longest waiting time band for both in-patient admission and first out-patient appointment in each applicable health trust area in the Province.

Children waiting for paediatric surgery at 30 June 2006
Months
HSS trust
Ulster Royal Group
Median waiting time band
(a) In-patient admission 0-2 3-5
(b) Out-patient appointment 0-2 3-5
Longest waiting time band
(a) In-patient admission 6-8 9-11
(b) Out-patient appointment 12-14 24+
Source: Departmental Information returns CH1 and CH3

The following table shows the number of children that had an initial paediatric surgery out-patient attendance in each applicable HSS Trust in each of the last five years from 2000-01 to 2005-06.

Number of paediatric surgery initial out-patient attendances 2000-01 to 2005-06
HSS trust
Ulster Royal Group Total
2005-06 618 1,396 2,014
2004-05 967 1,607 2,574
2003-04 1,084 1,285 2,369
2002-03 941 1,574 2,515
2001-02 916 1,489 2,405
Source: Departmental Information return KH09

Information on the number of children that were admitted to hospital for paediatric surgery out-patient assessment in each of the last five years is not available.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
451 c1239-40W; 99451
Session
2005-06
Subjects
Northern Ireland Paediatrics
Link
View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk