§ Captain Kerbyasked the Minister of Health when the manufacture of the Spitz-Holter hydrocephalic valve will commence, 254W under licence, in Great Britain; how many are to be produced annually and at what approximate cost per valve; and if, when British production begins, he will take steps to reimburse the Great Ormond Street Hospital for Sick Children for the valves which the hospital has purchased to date, from the United States of America, from its own resources.
§ Mr. Walker-SmithI cannot yet say how soon production will commence; it is intended to produce all the National Health Service requirements in the United Kingdom, amounting to perhaps between 800 and 1,000 annually; it is not at present possible to estimate the cost per valve. In the meantime, hospitals requiring these valves will continue to purchase them direct from the manufacturers with the funds at their disposal, and I see no reason for refunding the expenditure involved.