§ Mr. Spriggsasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will bring up to date his departmental information about the percentage of diseases, such as bronchitis and other respiratory diseases, suffered by constituents of the hon. Member for St. Helens, giving details of the industries they work in and those constituents whose occupations cover those of a domestic nature, respectively; if he will indicate the cause of most known respiratory diseases; what treatment is prescribed; and if he will make a statement.
§ Dr. VaughanInformation is not available in the form requested. The latest statistics are for 1977 and relate to St. Helens and Knowsley area health authority; they show that 509 in-patients received treatment for bronchitis and 2,273 for other respiratory diseases. Information is not collected centrally for hospital out-patients or for general practitioner treatments, and patients' occupations are not recorded. I am advised that the most common causes of respiratory diseases are infection, new growths, and inhalation of noxious substances. Treatment is a matter for the clinical judgment of the patient's doctor.