§ Mr. LlwydTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many referrals there have been over the past five years to Guy's hospital poison unit concerning organophosphate poisoning; and if he will make a statement. [22372]
§ Mr. HoramBetween January 1991 and December 1995, the London centre of the national poisons information service received 1,708 inquiries about organophosphorus compounds. This number cannot be assumed to be equivalent to confirmed cases of poisoning.
§ Mr. LlwydTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans his Department has to fund a medical center for the south-west and Wales, to carry out assessment of suspected organophosphate poisoning sufferers; and if he will make a statement. [22366]
§ Mr. HoramThere are no plans to fund such a centre for the south-west. Any plans for Wales are a matter for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales.
The assessment of suspected organophosphate poisoning sufferers can be carried out by general practitioners, who are able to obtain advice on diagnosis and treatment from any one of the seven United Kingdom national poisons information service centres. Furthermore, if they need to, they can refer patients to any hospital consultant including professors of occupational medicine and toxicology at a number of university departments.