§ Mr. Dempseyasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will publish in the Official Report the number of persons in Scotland in receipt of retirement pensions at the most recent convenient date and the estimated numbers for each respective year up to 1980.
§ Mr. DeakinsThe information requested is as follows:
Retirement pensions (thousands) Old persons pensions (thousands) November 1975 723 9 1976–77* 730 5 1977–78* 730 5 1978–79* 730 5 1979–80* 735 5 *Estimates
§ Mr. Leadbitterasked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many patients are registered for kidney machine 74W treatment in each of the hospital regions; how many kidney machines are available; what is the total requirement and the cost of this; and how many homes have been wired, fitted and generally prepared for kidney machines where none have been installed.
§ Dr. OwenFollowing is the number of patients receiving regular haemodialysis and the beds in hospital units, both at 30th June 1975:
Patients treated NHS Region in hospital at home Beds Northern 81 61 40 Yorkshire 55 68 30 Trent 43 116 25 East Anglia 33 18 10 North-West Thames 71 96 32 North-East Thames 58 224 38 South-East Thames 74 150 56 South-West Thames 15 18 13 Wessex 7 48 10 Oxford 14 124 7 South Western 46 88 26 West Midlands 38 75 43 Mersey 8 59 8 North western 26 77 27 St. Pauls Post-Graduate Hospital 29 2 8 Total 598 1,224 373 Precise details of dialysis machines are not available centrally but the number used in the treatment of chronic renal failure equates broadly with the number of beds, with some in reserve. Patients treated at home have their own machines. In 1912, a Joint Committee of the Royal Colleges estimated that between 23–39 patients per million population per year, with an upper age limit of 55–60, might benefit from Treatment by regular dialysis and/or transplantation. In general, those patients between the ages of 15 and 45 who are suitable for dialysis can at present be offered treatment and in some parts of the country the age range is wider. An accurate estimate of how much it would cost to meet the total requirement is not available but the initial cost of a kidney machine is between £2,500–£3,500 plus £1,500 for associated equipment, plus a further sum for providing a dialysis room if the machine is to be used in the patient's home.
Information on the number of homes which have been adapted to provide facilities for dialysis but where no machine has been installed is not available centrally. There will inevitably be a small 75W number of cases where this happens e.g. when a patient dies unexpectedly before discharge from hospital.