§ 43. Mr. Farrasked the Secretary of State for the Social Services if he will arrange for diabetics to obtain disposable needles free through the National Health Service.
§ Sir George YoungDiabetics may already be supplied through hopitals with free disposable needles when, in the clinical judgment of the consultant concerned, it is necessary. Such single-use needles have little advantage, other than convenience, over re-usable ones when used by a patient following good hygienic practice and I do not consider that we should be justified at present in diverting from other NHS priorities the additional expenditure that would be entailed in making them generally available on prescription to diabetics.