asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will give the latest available average costings for a tonsillectomy/adenoidectomy, OPCS code 233, repair of inguinal hernia (411), Haemorrhoidectomy (493), cholecystectomy (522), hysterectomy (696), total hip replacement (810), excision, internal structure of knee (820), varicose veins, ligation and stripping (893/4).

We do not routinely make estimates of the cost of individual operations. However, an analysis done in 1981–82 in six National Health Service hospitals covering over a hundred patients would suggest that at 1984–85 prices the average revenue cost of a hernia repair would be £500, of a cholecystectomy £960, and a hysterectomy (non-malignant cases) £930. We estimate that the average cost of a total hip operation, including an element for capital, at 1984–85 prices is some £2,700. We have no reliable estimates for the other procedures.