§ Mr. Ashleyasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what was the number of cases referred to the mesothelioma panel for diagnosis in each year from 1967 to the present time, the number of cases diagnosed and the alternative diagnosis where one was made.
§ Mr. PrenticeI have no responsibility for the mesothelioma panel, which is a group of pathologists concerned to advance medical knowledge of the disease and its causes and to develop diagnostic criteria, but which has no statutory responsibility for the diagnosis of mesothe-
178Wregistrar posts there are in dermatology in each regional health authority; and how many are currently unfilled:
(2) how many consultant posts there are in dermatology in each regional health authority; and how many are currently unfilled.
§ Sir George YoungThe following table shows the number of filled and vacant consultant and senior registrar posts in dermatology by region in England and Wales as at 30 September 1979. Copies of the 1979 national and regional tables for hospital medical and dental staff will be placed in the Library of the House as soon as they are published.
lioma in relation to claims to industrial injuries benefit. Cases are not, therefore, referred to the panel as a whole. Moreover, while the opinions on diagnosis which are obtained from individual pathologists who are also panel members are regarded as important evidence by the statutory authorities who determine claims, no separate records are kept of these opinions.
§ Mr. Ashleyasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is the number of additions to the mesothelioma register which is maintaind by the Health and Safety Executive, for each year from 1967 to the present time.
179W
§ Mr. MayhewI have been asked to reply.
Cases where mesothelioma is mentioned on death certificates constitute the mesothelioma register; additions to it are therefore as shown below:
Death Certificates Mentioning Mesothelioma Great Britain 1968–77 Year of Death 1968 154 1969 159 1970 194 1971 176 1972 209 1973 217 1974 230 1975 264 1976 308 1977 328 Notes: (1) Deaths are counted by year of death not year of registration. (2) Figures for 1967 are not available. (3) The figures include cases where mesothelioma was mentioned either as one of the causes involved in the train of circumstances leading directly to death—part I of death certificate—or as a condition contributing to the death but not related to the disease which caused it—part 11 of death certificate.