§ Mr. Dobsonasked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) whether payments by foreign nationals into the Harefield hospital heart transplant fund are fixed so as to cover the costs of the operation in question.
(2) what are the main sources of income and items of expenditure of the Harefield hospital heart transplant fund in the last year for which figures are available;
(3) by whose authority Harefield hospital carries out operations on foreign nationals in exchange for payments, fixed by the hospital, into the Harefield hospital heart transplant fund;
406W
(England figures as at 31 December except where shown otherwise) 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 Number of opticians on the GOC Register Ophthalmic opticians 4,883 4,925 5,013 5,033 5,086 5,165 5,221 Dispensing opticians 1,972 2,121 2,322 2,487 2,594 2,674 2,814 Number of enrolled bodies corporate on the GOC Register (UK figures as at 1 April) Ophthalmic opticians 591 596 597 576 563 557 537 Dispensing opticians 95 95 95 95 91 95 99 Independent establishments in the GOS Ophthalmic opticians 3,064 3,088 2,957 2,994 2,847 2,898 * Dispensing opticians 354 378 326 373 398 426 * (4) whether the heart-lung transplant performed at Harefield hospital on Brooke Matthews was subject to the charges for services provided For overseas visitors set out in his Department's circular HC(85)14.
§ Mr. Kenneth ClarkeOverseas patients who receive heart transplant surgery at Harefield hospital are asked to make a deposit to cover the expected full cost of their treatment and aftercare. In addition to the statutory charges made under section 65(2) of the National Health Service Act 1977, a donation is also requested to bring the total deposit up to the sum which the hospital calculates should cover the full cost of treatment for each procedure.
This additional donation reflects the very high cost of the treatment compared to the charge and includes a substantial element in lieu of professional fees. If after the event it is found that the deposit does not reflect the final cost, adjustments may be made.
The donation is made to the Harefield hospital heart transplant fund which in turn reimburses the health authority. These arrangements would not apply to European Community nationals referred for treatment under the provisions of the European Community Social Services Regulations, the terms of which require that patients accepted for treatment must be regarded as ordinary National Health Service patients. The arrangements were followed in the case of Brooke Matthews.
The Harefield hospital transplant fund is an independent charitable trust set up to support and further research and development of the heart transplant programme. Our Department has no responsibility to oversee the trust's finances. However, I understand that in the current financial year the trust will donate up to a further £100,000 towards the programme's general nursing and equipment costs, with the emphasis on research and development.