§ Mr. Carter-Jonesasked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will give the treatment rate per million for new end stage renal failure patients by home 627W dialysis, hospital dialysis, continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis and transplant for Northern Ireland and for each health authority; what is the estimated length of life for end stage renal failure patients who receive none of the above treatment; if he will give the estimated number of deaths from end stage renal failure in each of the above authorities which could have been avoided if such treatment had been provided; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Chris Patten[pursuant to his reply, 21 February 1984, c. 516–17]: The treatment of end stage renal failure in Northern Ireland is a regional service based at the Belfast city hospital.
The number of new patients treated in the 12 months to 30 November 1983 was 46, equivalent to a rate of 31 per million population. Information is not held centrally for the number of new patients by type of treatment. However, the number of patients on dialysis at that date was as follows:
Number Home dialysis 1 Hospital dialysis 57 Continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis nil A further 38 patients received transplants during 1983.
It is not possible to provide a reliable estimate of the length of life for patients who do not receive any of the above treatments. This varies to a considerable degree according to the clinical condition of the individual patient and the effectiveness of other forms of medical intervention.
It has been estimated on international statistical comparisons that about 45 new patients per 1 million total population could develop potentially treatable end stage renal failure each year. The assessment of need is based on broad epidemiological data and the difference between this figure and the number of patients who actually started treatment cannot be directly equated with a number of patients for whom treatment would have been successful but was not available.