§ 16. Mr. Haymanasked the Minister of Health whether sufficient hearing aids are now being produced to meet the current requirements of the National Health Service and the steady reduction of arrears.
§ Mr. HaymanDoes the Minister expect to be able to clear these arrears within the year, as he told another hon. Member two months ago?
Mr. MacleodYes, certainly I do; within the financial year. The waiting list in the area in which the hon. Member is most concerned has dropped from 66,000 to 42,600 in the last six months. 1393 We are completely on top of the position now. There is ample supply and the difficulty is that there are too many to handle at the centres.
§ 17. Mr. Haymanasked the Minister of Health what are the categories of priority in the supply of hearing aids in the National Health Service; and what is the order in which they operate.
§ Mr. Iain MacleodNo fixed categories have been laid down but hospitals generally give high priority to the deaf blind, children and mothers with young children and, at my request, some degree of priority to patients who require aids for employment purposes.