§ Mr. Alfred MorrisTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what sums(a) his Department and (b) the Medical Research Panel have devoted to research into (i) epilepsy and (ii) related conditions in the last 10 years in constant prices. [1410]
§ Mr. BurnsInformation on research commissioned by the Department of Health is contained in "The Centrally Commissioned Research Programme" and "The Centrally Commissioned Research Programme: Commissions in 1994–95", copies of which are available in the Library.
Within the national programme on implementation of research findings, there is a project looking at comparing a patient-held reminder card to a doctor-held reminder card to improve epilepsy care in the community. This is at a cost of £102,000.
There are also a number of regionally supported research projects. We do not have complete records on regional research activity but we are aware of the following:
45WA pilot project aimed to develop and evaluate the role of a nurse specialist delivering a package of information, advice and counselling to patients with newly diagnosed epilepsy at a cost of £50,000.Collaborative care planning health outcomes contract which includes a collaborative care plan for epilepsy, which is a patient focused approach to planning care at a cost of £15,000.The identification of the relationship between function and anatomy using 3-D fusion of SECT nuclear medicine and CT medical images which many facilitate the improvement of diagnosis and classification of brain disorders such as dementia and epilepsy at a cost of £45,000.The Medical Research Council expenditure figures for epilepsy up to 1993–94 are:
- 1986–87: £437,000
- 1987–88: £446,000
- 1988–89: £350,000
- 1989–90: £310,000
- 1990–91: £340,000
- 1991–92: £381,000
- 1992–93: £336,000
- 1993–94: £472,000
The Medical Research Council databasing system has now changed and figures for later years cannot be accurately compared with these earlier figures. However, the MRC currently supports a wide portfolio of epilepsy-related research both through its own establishments and through grant support in universities, as follows:
Ten programmes and projects related to epilepsy, for which the total MRC funding is £4,277,000;Five further projects of relevance to epilepsy, for which total MRC funding is £377,000;A large programme directly related to epilepsy, for which total MRC expenditure was £940,000, was completed in January 1996.