HC Deb 09 February 1953 vol 511 cc10-2W
Mr. Blenkinsop

asked the Minister of Health the number and cost of prescriptions issued and dental treatment provided and appliances issued, for which charges were imposed under the National Health Service Act, 1952, for the months of November and December, 1952, as compared with the figures for the months of November and December, 1951.

PRESCRIPTIONS
Number of prescriptions Average cost per prescription Total cost
November, 1951 19,034,911 actual 46.02d. £3,649,880
December, 1951 17,815,111 46.58d. £3,457,607
November, 1952 17,439,000 declared by chemists Not yet available
December, 1952 20,100,000
These figures include prescriptions for appliances ordered by general practitioners and dispensed by chemists and prescriptions given by hospital out-patient departments and dispensed by chemists. No figures are available to show the number of prescriptions dispensed at hospitals to out-patients.
DENTAL TREATMENT
1951 1952
November December November December
Number of completed courses of dental treatment under normal procedure (other than for the provision of dentures to which the 1952 Act charges do not Apply) [Note 1] 363,000 388,000 414,000 333,000
Number of courses for limited treatment provided under simplified procedure [Note 2] 236,000 201,000 127,000 102,000
Cost to the Exchequer £950,000 £1,000,000 £850,000 £700,000
1. Less than half the courses given were subject to charges under the 1952 Act. The remaining courses were started before 1st June or were for items of treatment to which the charges do not apply or were for the exempted classes of patients.
2. The courses for limited treatment, which consist largely of extractions of one or two teeth, usually cost under f1 and many patients may therefore be assumed to have had the treatment privately.
APPLIANCES
Surgical Appliances delivered to Hospitals
1951 1952
November December November December
No. Estimated cost No. Estimated cost No. Estimated cost No. Estimated cost
£ £ £ £
Surgical Footwear (pairs) 3,998 37,000 3,996 37,000 3,255 28,099 2,409 20,625
Repairs to Surgical Foot wear 6,739 5,000 7,588 5,700 2,598 1,763 2,036 1,304
Surgical Abdominal Supports 8,328 31,000 8,430 31,500 4,497 14,452 3,511 11,306
Elastic Hosiery (pairs or single) 3,043 5,300 3,184 5,600 2,586 4,155 2,012 3,105
Wigs 587 7,500 581 I7,500 381 4,830 389 4,962
1. The figures for repairs of surgical footwear include all types of repairs and are not related to soling and heeling only.
2. The figures for surgical abdominal supports also include all types of belts, some of which are not chargeable.

Mr. Iain Macleod

The following are the figures for England and Wales: