Prosthetics (Hansard, 22 January 2002)

§ Bob Spink
To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what research is being carried out into prosthetics practice in the UK; [26586]
(2) what research is being carried out into trans-femoral socket and limb prescription, design and delivery. [26584]

§ Jacqui Smith
The Department is not currently funding any research in these two areas.
However, the Department does provide support for research commissioned by charities and the research councils that takes place in the national health service. Details of on-going and recently completed research projects funded by, or of interest to, the NHS are available on the National Research Register at www.doh.gov.uk/research/nrr.htm.

§ Bob Spink
To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if he will make it his policy to make state-of-the-art prosthetics available on the NHS to those who want them; [26611]
(2) what plans he has to make state-of-the-art prosthetics available on the NHS. [26590]
753W

§ Jacqui Smith
The national health service already has available to it, via contracts negotiated by the NHS Purchasing and Supply Agency, the widest possible range of prosthetic limb components available. The decision as to which type of prosthesis an individual patient receives is one that should be decided at a local level taking into account an individual's clinical circumstances.

§ Bob Spink
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the NHS prosthetics expenditure in the last financial year for which records are available per amputee; and what proportion of this expenditure was used on(a) administration, (b) prosthetics staff and (c) prosthetics. [26587]

§ Jacqui Smith
The Department does not collect information on the financial expenditure on each individual amputee. Expenditure is decided at a local health authority and national health service trust level.
The NHS Purchasing and Supply Agency estimate that some £23 million including value added tax was spent on prosthetic service contracts and a further £13 million including VAT was spent on prosthetic limb hardware and associated items during 1999–2000.

§ Bob Spink
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the impact on the UK prosthetics industry of the emigration of qualified prosthetics professionals and technicians. [26589]

§ Jacqui Smith
There has been no report of a significant impact on the United Kingdom prosthetic industry due to the emigration of qualified prosthetic professionals and technicians.

§ Bob Spink
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what training is given to orthopaedic surgeons on prosthetics and orthotics, with specific reference to the functional implications of the various levels of amputation and residual limb lengths. [26594]

§ Jacqui Smith
The Royal College of Surgeons is the body responsible for the training of medical students on surgery. The majority of amputations are carried out by vascular and general surgeons, and relatively few are undertaken by orthopaedic surgeons. Orthopaedic surgeons receive training on amputations and prosthetics at various stages of the medical curriculum, such as:

Medical students receive lectures and tutorials on general surgery, and are taken to a limb fitting centre.

Basic surgical trainees will receive training from mainly vascular surgeons on the practical skills of "common amputations".

Specialist Registrars receive higher surgical training on amputation and rehabilitation, and on prosthetics and orthotics.

§ Bob Spink
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidelines his Department has given to disablement service centres for the prescription and delivery of prosthetics. [26591]

§ Jacqui Smith
The Department has not issued any guidelines to disablement services centres for the prescription and delivery of prosthetics. Prescriptions and delivery criteria are decided at a local level to take account of an individual patient's clinical need.
754W

§ Bob Spink
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the level of funding for prosthetics in each of the last five financial years for which records are available; and what level is anticipated for the(a) current and (b) next financial years. [26588]

§ Jacqui Smith
The level of funding on prosthetic services is not separately identified in health authority financial baseline allocations. But on 9 January 2001 we announced that funding for providing silicone cosmesis to prosthetic limb users was to be made available totalling £4 million over the next three years. The funding started in April 2001 with £0.5 million for 2001–02, £1.5 million for 2002–03 and £2 million for 2003–04. This was an addition to the baseline allocation.
The local health authority will decide the level of funding an individual disablement service centre receives. We would not expect the level of funding a DSC receives next financial year to be any less than invested this financial year.