§ Mr. Alan JohnsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people are being treated for interstitial cystitis; what estimate he has made of the cost of their treatment; and what research is currently taking place on this illness. [64562]
§ Mr. HuttonThe majority of patients with interstitial cystitis are treated in primary care or in outpatients. Information on the numbers of such patients is not collected centrally. A minority of patients require treatment in hospitals and in 1997/98 there were 2,136 admissions in which the primary diagnosis was recorded as interstitial cystitis. The cost of treating these patients cannot be separately identified. There are various studies and reports relating to interstitial cystitis published in the medical journals associated with urology and gynaecology, and a range of surgical and non-surgical treatments available or on trial. The Department is not currently funding any specific research in this area.