§ Mr. Dubsasked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many amputations were carried out in 1979 on persons suffering from peripheral vascular disease; how many were a consequence of smoking; and what was the cost to the National Health Service of such amputations.
52W
Gas Electricity Quarter Number of payments Averge payment (£ per week)
Number of payments Average payment (£ per week) August 1979 3,523 3.11 13,861 4.90 November 1979 3,786 3.10 13,775 5.04 February 1980 3,803 *3.96 14,206 5.28 May 1980 4,012 3.41 15,090 5.60 August 1980 4,214 3.49 15,864 5.96 * I regret that the figure 5.51 was incorrectly given in my reply on 2 April.—[Vol. 982. c. 261.62.]
§ Sir George YoungInformation is not recorded on the reasons for which amputations are performed, but there is evidence that they frequently include peripheral vascular disease. For example, of the 5,540 amputees who attended artificial limb and appliance centres in England and Wales in 1978, 3,514 had had amputations because of vascular insufficiency. According to the 1977 report from the Royal College of Physicians "Smoking or Health", over 95 per cent, of patients with arterial disease of the legs were reported to be smokers and those who continued smoking were much more likely to develop gangrene of the leg—and suffer subsequent amputation—than those who stopped. The total number of amputations performed in England and Wales in 1978 is estimated, on the basis of a 1 in 10 sample, as 12,270; figures for 1979 are not yet available.