HL Deb 17 June 1980 vol 410 cc963-4

2.44 p.m.

Lord SEGAL

My Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question which stands in my name on the Order Paper.

The Question was as follows:

To ask Her Majesty's Government in how many cases have contact lenses been prescribed on the National Health Service for children of school age within the Greater London Area during the last five years.

Lord CULLEN of ASHBOURNE

My Lords, I regret that statistics are not collected centrally in the form requested, and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. However, I can say that some 15,000 pairs of contact lenses were prescribed in England in 1978, only a small proportion of which are likely to have been for children. The statistics do not break down the lenses prescribed by age groups.

Lord SEGAL

My Lords, I should like to thank the noble Lord for that reply. Is he aware that he is quite right in assuming that only a very small proportion of the figure he has given can refer to children of school age? Also, would he not agree that the prescribing of contact lenses ought to be extended to cover psychological needs, where the wearing of conventional spectacles can adversely affect the whole of a child's future, as in the cases of, for example, sensitive, introspective children or pupils at a ballet or drama school? Why cannot a recognised ophthalmic specialist at a large London hospital be allowed a much wider latitude to prescribe these contact lenses in all cases where he thinks that their use is advisable?

Lord CULLEN of ASHBOURNE

My Lords, as I am sure the noble Lord knows, contact lenses can be prescribed under the National Health Service only when, in the opinion of a hospital consultant ophthalmologist, they are clinically essential. NHS contact lenses are not available through the general ophthalmic services. I fully understand the noble Lord's point, about sensitive children not wishing to wear glasses and look different from other children, but certainly at this stage there is no way in which the consultant is able to prescribe contact lenses on other than clinical grounds.

Lord SEGAL

My Lords, is it not totally wrong that a recognised ophthalmic surgeon has to refer a child for a psychiatrist's report before a child can be given these contact lenses?

Lord CULLEN of ASHBOURNE

My Lords, I do not really believe that that is true, although I feel very wary about saying that to the noble Lord, who has so much more knowledge and experience on this subject than I have. But I have asked the department about this, and I understand that a psychiatrist is brought in only if the child concerned has a psychiatric history.

Lord SEGAL

My Lords, does the noble Lord not agree that the cost of these contact lenses is comparable to the cost of ordinary conventional spectacles, with the added advantage that there is no requirement for the notoriously expensive spectacle frames?

Lord CULLEN of ASHBOURNE

Yes, my Lords. I know that in the private sector contact lenses cost from about £25 up to £100 or more, and this, I agree, is an appalling cost. Frequently contact lenses are desirable on account of cosmetic rather than ocular reasons.

Lord SEGAL

My Lords, the cost to a National Health Service patient of contact lenses is only £6.25.