§ Rev. William McCreaasked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many beds there are in Northern Ireland for the treatment of leukaemia; where these are located; and if he is satisfied that present facilities, including the availability of marrow tranplantation are adequate.
§ Mr. Chris Patten[pursuant to his reply, 24 January 1984, c. 519]: Hospital beds for the treatment of leukaemia are not specifically designated. Facilities for the treatment of patients suffering from cancerous conditions over a wide range of specialties are provided to varying degrees at all main hospitals in the Province. The bone marrow transplantation programme for the treatment of certain cancerous conditions including leukaemia is provided by the Eastern health and social services board at the Royal Victoria hospital as a regional service and I have made a special allocation of funds to enable this service to be brought up to a level comparable to most other parts of the United Kingdom. I have also initiated a review of hospital services for the treatment of all cancer conditions which will take account of recent advances in diagnosis and treatment and make recommendations on the future provision of these services.