§ 1. Mr. William Hamiltonasked the Secretary of State for Scotland what provision is being made to increase the number of kidney machines; and what steps he intends to take to ensure that wherever possible machines for use in the patients' homes are supplied.
§ The Under-Secretary of State for Scotland (Mr. Bruce Millan)During the next year or two the hospital dialysis facilities for treating chronic renal failure will be expanded to treat at least 40 to 50 more patients. Plans are being developed to expand home dialysis but no firm figures can be put on this at present. Not all patients suitable for such treatment in hospital could be treated by home dialysis.
§ Mr. HamiltonI thank my hon. Friend for his very full reply to the letter which I sent him on this matter. Could he indicate when the report will be available giving the full extent of the magnitude of this problem and how far and how soon it will be satisfactorily resolved?
§ Mr. MillanI could not give a date at the moment, but we are co-operating with the physicians in charge of the dialysis unit on this. But I hope that reasonably soon we shall have information which will give a better guide about the expansion of the service. I am afraid that, like everything else, expansion in this service depends on the pressure on resources of regional hospital boards as a whole.