§ Mr. Tom Coxasked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) how many people were receiving dialysis treatment at National Health Service hospitals in the United Kingdom on 31 March;
(2) how many people are now awaiting dialysis treatment from National Health Service hospitals; and what is the average time a person has to wait to receive such treatment.
§ Mrs. CurrieInformation on the numbers of people receiving dialysis treatment is collected on an annual basis by the European Dialysis and Transplant Association. The latest figures available are for the year ending 31 December 1985, when a total of 12,154 patients were being treated. This is a 97 per cent. increase on the 1979 total.
The length of time a patient has to wait for treatment and the numbers awaiting treatment are not recorded centrally.