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23 May 2007 : Column 1318W—continued

NHS: Drugs

Dr. Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps her Department plans to take to decrease the time-lag between the conclusion of clinical trials and subsequent licensing of orphan medicines for the treatment of serious, life threatening or chronically debilitating illnesses and their availability to patients. [131655]

Caroline Flint: Applications for marketing authorisations for designated orphan medicinal products are required to be submitted via the European centralised procedure and hence applications for national United Kingdom marketing authorisations are not possible. The time taken from submission of a Marketing Authorisation application to licence issue is therefore outside of the control of the UK and follows the timetable for European centralised applications.

However, where there is a clear clinical need there is the possibility that orphan medicinal products can be made available to patients, prior to the grant of a marketing authorisation, under a compassionate use programme authorised by the European Medicines Agency and there is the possibility for accelerated consideration of a marketing authorisation application by that agency.

Out-patients

Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many outpatient appointments were missed (a) in England and (b) in each relevant NHS organisation in the most recent year for which figures are available; what proportion of the total number of out-patient appointments this figure represented for each relevant NHS organisation; and what estimate she has made of the overall cost to the NHS of such missed appointments. [137392]

Andy Burnham: The number of missed out-patient appointments in England in 2005-06 was 5,582,315 or 11 per cent. of all national health service out-patient appointments. Data for individual trusts have been placed in the Library. The Department has not estimated the cost of missed appointments. The choose and book system can be used to help reduce the number of missed appointments by giving patients greater certainty and choice over the date, time and place of their appointments.


23 May 2007 : Column 1319W

Referral-to-Treatment Waiting Times

Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 16 January 2007, Official Report, column 1088W, on referral-to-treatment waiting times, when she plans to publish data related to admitted patients. [137365]

Andy Burnham: Publication will begin as soon as the data are of sufficient quality.

Referral-to-treatment times for admitted patients who completed that 18 week pathway in March 2007 will be published in June.


23 May 2007 : Column 1320W

Screening: Waiting Lists

Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the (a) mean and (b) median waiting time has been for a (i) magnetic resonance imaging, (ii) computerised tomography, (iii) non-obstetric ultrasound, (iv) barium enema, (v) DEXA scan, (vi) cardiology - echocardiography, (vii) cardiology - electrophysiology, (viii) peripheral neurophysiology, (ix) colonoscopy, (x) flexi sigmoidoscopy, (xi) cytoscopy and (xii) gastroscopy test in each month since January 2006. [123063]

Andy Burnham: The information requested is provided in the following table.

Commissioner based mean and median waiting time information for diagnostic test—2006s
Weeks
Month end January 2006 February 2006 March 2006 April 2006 May 2006
Test Median waiting time Mean waiting time Median waiting time Mean waiting time Median waiting time Mean waiting time Median waiting time Mean waiting time Median waiting time Mean waiting time

Magnetic Resonance Imaging

6.4

9.3

5.2

7.3

4.9

6.5

5.4

6.9

4.9

6.6

Computed Tomography

2.7

4.8

2.6

4.3

2.4

3.8

2.7

4.1

2.5

4.0

Non-obstetric ultrasound

4.3

7.3

3.8

6.2

3.8

5.8

4.1

6.0

3.8

5.8

Barium Enema

2.9

5.5

2.6

4.6

2.7

4.4

2.8

4.5

2.6

4.4

DEXA Scan

7.6

13.0

5.7

10.9

6.1

11.0

6.3

10.9

5.9

10.5

Cardiology-echocardiography

8.1

13.4

6.9

12.7

6.5

12.4

6.2

9.1

5.9

8.6

Cardiology-electrophysiology

9.8

11.1

8.2

10.6

9.7

11.7

10.4

12.0

10.8

12.2

Neurophysiology-peripheral neurophysiology

11.8

19.6

11.9

19.5

10.6

18.3

11.3

19.0

11.0

18.8

Colonoscopy

11.0

23.5

10.2

20.5

8.8

19.7

8.7

18.6

8.3

18.0

Flexi sigmoidoscopy

7.0

12.6

6.3

12.2

6.3

11.4

6.5

11.2

5.9

10.6

Cystoscopy

6.7

10.1

5.9

9.5

5.7

9.0

6.3

9.1

5.9

8.6

Gastroscopy

7.0

12.8

6.1

12.1

6.0

11.7

6.3

11.7

5.9

11.5


Weeks
Month end June 2006 July 2006 August 2006 September 2006 October 2006
Test Median waiting time Mean waiting time Median waiting time Mean waiting time Median waiting time Mean waiting time Median waiting time Mean waiting time Median waiting time Mean waiting time

Magnetic resonance imaging

4.4

6.1

4.5

6.0

4.9

6.3

4.5

6.1

4.3

5.7

Computed tomography

2.5

4.0

2.6

4.1

2.7

4.3

2.4

3.9

2.4

3.6

Non-obstetric ultrasound

3.5

5.3

3.6

5.3

3.9

5.5

3.4

5.1

3.4

4.9

Barium enema

2.3

3.6

2.4

3.7

2.6

3.9

2.3

3.9

2.4

3.5

DEXA scan

5.3

9.9

5.5

10.8

5.3

10.2

4.7

9.5

4.6

9.5

Cardiology-echocardiography

5.6

8.5

5.5

8.5

6.1

9.2

5.4

8.7

5.1

8.5

Cardiology-electrophysiology

10.1

11.7

9.6

11.7

10.2

11.6

9.9

11.1

9.0

10.6

Neurophysiology-peripheral neurophysiology

9.8

17.9

10.2

18.1

10.7

18.1

10.4

17.7

10.0

17.0

Colonoscopy

7.5

17.7

7.4

17.4

7.5

16.6

7.0

16.2

6.4

15.0

Flexi sigmoidoscopy

5.8

10.0

5.5

9.9

5.8

9.4

5.1

8.9

4.8

8.6

Cystoscopy

5.7

8.5

5.7

8.5

6.0

8.7

5.6

8.6

5.4

8.5

Gastroscopy

5.7

11.2

5.6

11.1

5.5

10.7

4.8

10.1

4.3

9.2


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