§ Mr. Gordon PrenticeTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what research he has commissioned into phantom limb pain. [19692]
§ Ms JowellMy right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland ha funded two studies into phantom limb pain. Both were undertaken at Glasgow Caledonian University and are entitled "Improving care provision for amputees with phantom limb pain" and "Chronic phantom limb pain: relationship to psychological adjustment, patient characteristics and care provision".
The main agency through which the Government support medical and clinical research is the Medical Research Council (MRC). The MRC is an independent body which receives its grant-in-aid from my right hon. Friend the President of the Board of Trade. The Council is not currently undertaking any research specifically investigating phantom limb pain; however it provides support for areas which may be indirectly relevant to phantom limb pain including general pain research and basis neurobiology which will underpin and inform future work in this area.
The Department of Health's Policy Research Programme and the National Health Service Research and Development Programme are not currently funding any work into phantom limb pain.