§ Mr. Hamiltonasked the Minister of Health how many pairs of elastic stockings were supplied through the National Health Service on the prescription of general practitioners in the six months June-November, 1952; and what were the corresponding figures for each year since the inception of the service.
§ Mr. Iain MacleodI regret that when I answered the hon. Member's previous Question on 18th December I omitted to make it clear that the figures I gave were for the hospital service only. Precise figures are not available, but it is estimated that the number of orders for elastic hosiery supplied on the prescription of general medical practitioners is at least 10 times the number supplied through the hospital service.