§ Mr. Carter-Jonesasked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) if he will estimate the number of people who would benefit from the home use, as distinct from the hospital use, of oxygen concentrators; if he will estimate the number of people who suffer from chronic obstructive airways diseases; if he will give the relative cost of treating such patients at home or in hospital; and if he will make a statement;
(2) if, in view of the considerable costs savings in the use of such aids, he will consider the extended use of oxygen concentrators for the treatment of home and community based sufferers from chronic obstructive airway diseases; and if he will make a statement;
(3) what recent reports have been prepared by the Medical Research Council or his Department regarding the use of oxygen concentrators for the treatment of chronic obstructive airways diseases; and if he will make a statement;
(4) if he will indicate the relative costs per annum of supplying a patient with an oxygen concentrator or oxygen delivery to the patient's home over a 12-month period; what is the estimated cost of providing oxygen for 12 months in teaching and district hospitals; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. John PattenFigures on the number of people suffering from chronic obstructive airways diseases are not collected centrally. We are not able to estimate the relative costs of treating patients with chronic obstructive airways
Aged 65–74 Aged 75–84 Aged 85–95 People in England and Wales at 30 June 1982 4,545,100 2,445,700 535,000 Estimated numbers of people in England and Wales at 31 December 1982 receiving a pension for disablement arising from military service. *62,700 *14,300 *12,300 * These figures do not include people receiving a disablement pension from the Ministry of Defence in respect of service between 30 September 1921 and 2 September 1939, for which the requested information is not available.