What the median and mean waiting times were for (a) in-patients and day cases and (b) out-patients in each year since 1999, also including …

The following table shows themedian and mean waiting times for in-patient/day case admissions from the waitinglist and new out-patient appointments during the years ending 31 March 1999 to 2006.
Thedistribution of waiting times for new out-patient appointments and in-patient/daycase admissions is highly positively skewed. The arithmetic mean is an inappropriatestatistical measure for such distributions because a very small number of long waitingtimes can have a disproportionate effect on the mean waiting time.
ISD Scotland routinely publishesthe median wait as a measure of the time a typical patient might have to wait. Bydefinition, 50% of patients will wait less than the median and 50% will wait longerthan the median. The median is unaffected by a small number of patients that mighthave long waits.
The recording of AvailabilityStatus Codes (ASCs) on in-patient/day case discharge data is not mandatory and consistencyof recording will vary across NHSScotland. Therefore, it is not possible to establish exactly howmany patients had an ASC applied during their wait and it is not possible to distinguishprecisely between those patients eligible for waiting times standards and thosethat are ineligible. For this reason the information presented in the followingtable and routinely published waiting times figures are based on all in-patients/daycases regardless of whether they have an ASC code. The majority of patients withASCs have circumstances which have affected their availability for admission andare therefore exempt from national waiting time standards. Reasons patients aregiven ASCs include where the patient has requested a delay for personal reasons,refused a reasonable offer of admission, was under medical constraints that affectedtheir availability or previously did not attend an appointment.
The recording of ASCson out-patient data is mandatory and therefore waiting times can be shown includingand excluding patients with ASCs.
Year Ending 31 March:
| In-Patient/Day Case Waiting List Admissions
| New Out-Patient Appointments

Median Wait (days)
Including ASC codes
| Mean Wait (Days)
Including ASC Codes
| Median Wait (Days)
| Mean Wait (Days)

Including ASC Codes
| Excluding ASC Codes
| Including ASC Codes
| Excluding ASC Codes

1999
| 35
| 68
| 48
| 47
| 65
| 64

2000
| 34
| 63
| 50
|