§ 30. Mr. John Hallasked the Minister of Health what is the present cost of installing a kidney machine for treatment in a hospital.
§ Mr. K. RobinsonAn average cost would be £2,000 where accommodation and supporting facilities were already available.
§ Mr. HallWould the right hon. Gentleman not agree that the failure to meet the demand for these machines means that some lives which could otherwise be saved are being lost? Would he not agree that if lack of money is holding up their provision he could provide the necessary finance easily by restoring prescription charges?
§ Mr. RobinsonThe hon. Gentleman cannot have been following the exchanges in the House on this subject, when I made it abundantly clear time and time again that this is not a question of money. The cost of the apparatus has not inhibited the development of this service, for which accommodation and—perhaps even more important—staff with specialised training are needed.
§ Mr. BraineI entirely accept what the right hon. Gentleman has just said, but there is anxiety in the country about this. What special steps are being taken to speed up the training of staff and the provision of accommodation?
§ Mr. RobinsonStaff are being trained in increasing numbers as more units come into operation, as they can be trained only in the units which are functioning. Thus, the process should be and is an accelerating one.
§ Mr. PavittWill my right hon. Friend review the present system, whereby the dialysis department is quite separate from the transplant department for renal failure? Would he try to save money on these machines by having more co-ordination with transplants, thus avoiding the need for trained staff to operate dialysis machines?
§ Mr. RobinsonWhen the renal transplant techniques improve, this, one would hope, would reduce the need for dialysis, but I am not sure what my hon. Friend means by the two departments being separate. Often, both form part of a urological unit in the same hospital.