HC Deb 20 June 1988 vol 135 cc411-2W
Mr. Barry Jones

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will release funds to enable(a) Chester district health authority and (b) Mersey health authority to purchase equipment and to appoint staff to enable them to treat kidney stone sufferers; and if he will make a statement.

Mrs. Currie

This is a matter for the health authorities concerned. They must determine their own priorities and use the resources they have available in a way which best serves the needs of the local population.

Mr. Barry Jones

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services how many patients with kidney stone problems are treated annually in the Chester district and Mersey health authority; and if he will make a statement.

Mrs. Currie

Such information which is available centrally relates to the estimated number of patients treated with the main diagnosis of calculus of kidney and ureter, and is set out in the table:

Estimated Number of Discharges of In-patients, by Regional Health Authority, NHS Non-psychiatric Hospital, England, 1985
Diagnosis ICD Code1 England Mersey Chester
Calculus of Kidney 592.0 4,480 150 2
Calculus of Ureter 592.1 5,580 230 2
Urinary Calculus, unspecified 592.9 260 2 2
1 International Classification of Diseases—9th revision.
2 The number in the sample is too small to make reliable estimates.

The hon. Member may wish to contact the chairmen of the Mersey regional health authority and the Chester district health authority to see what information is available locally.