HC Deb 12 April 1988 vol 131 cc96-8W
Mr. Gerald Howarth

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services what information he has about the proportion of United Kingdom employers who have some employees with AIDS; and if he has any equivalent information about the United States of America.

Mr. Newton

The Government have no such information for United Kingdom employers. I am aware of the Alexander and Alexander Consulting Group 1987 AIDS survey on AIDS and employment undertaken in the United Slates of America, in which 17.8 per cent. of the 11,300 employers approached replied to a questionnaire; 10.1 per cent. of those employers indicated that they had, or had had, one or more employees with AIDS, 18.8 per cent. indicated that they had not and the remainder stated that they did not know.

Mr. Butler

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he is now in a position to forecast the number of new cases of AIDS in 1989.

Mr. Newton

The Communicable Disease Surveillance Centre estimates that a total of 1,450 new cases of AIDS will be reported in 1988. A group of experts under the chairmanship of Sir David Cox is now considering the issues involved in forecasting numbers of cases for future years.

Mr. Graham

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services how many people, excluding haemophiliacs, have now been infected with the AIDS virus as a result of blood transfusions in the United Kingdom.

Mr. Newton

The latest statistics on cases of HIV infection, and AIDS, broken down by patient characteristic, were published on 11 April. Copies are in the Library.

Mr. Forth

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will give the latest figures for the probability of contracting the HIV virus and AIDS in the United Kingdom of the following groups(a) needle sharing drug abusers, (b) male homosexuals, (c) haemophiliacs and (d) heterosexuals having casual sexual contact.

Mr. Newton

It is not possible to assess the probability of people in the groups listed acquiring HIV infection in the United Kingdom, except in the case of haemophiliacs, for whom blood products are now made entirely from screened donations and are heat-treated to inactivate HIV. The figures on the latest numbers of reports of cases of AIDS and HIV infection were published on 11 April and copies are in the Library.

Mr. Rathbone

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services what screening for AIDS is being carried out in order to ensure the future proper operation of the national organ donor programme.

Mr. Newton

On 2 March 1987 the Department's chief medical officer wrote to all doctors to remind them of the precautions needed to prevent the transmission of HIV through the transplant of infected tissue or organs. He made it clear that it was essential that blood from the donor is tested and found negative for HIV antibodies before the organ or tissue is transplanted and that inquiries should also be made to exclude donors most likely to have been exposed to the AIDS virus.

Mr. Bendall

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will take steps to ensure that AIDS patients are not treated at the Royal Free hospital, Hampstead, in the same wards as haemophiliacs.

Mr. Newton

It is for individual health authorities to determine how best to provide in-patient care for those people with AIDS who require it, taking into account the guidance issued by the Department on control of infection procedures. My hon. Friend may wish to write to the chairman of Hampstead health authority, which is responsible for services at the Royal Free hospital, about the arrangements it is making.