§ MR. H. SAMUELSONasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department, Whether his attention has been called to recent cases of the treatment of the sick, by unqualified medical practitioners, at dispensaries at the East end of London, to the death of two children so treated, and to the observations of the coroner at the inquest upon them, on June 5th, to the effect that it appeared that a certain qualified doctor (who 823 keeps several dispensaries) saw one of the children a few minutes before its death, and was thereby enabled to "cover the delinquencies of the other person," i.e. the unqualified person who had treated the case in the dispensary, and that "it was no doubt an unsatisfactory state of things to think that the lives of the poor were in the hands of such persons;" whether he has observed that the above-mentioned unqualified practitioner (who calls himself a colonel and a barrister, as well as practising as a medical man) admitted that, under an authorisation from the qualified doctor who keeps the dispensary, he had signed certificates in that person's name; whether he can take any steps to prevent such illegalities; and, whether he can obtain power, either by the appointment of Government Inspectors, the issue of Government licences, or some other efficacious means to prevent the sick poor from being attended by unqualified medical practitioners at the Metropolitan dispensaries?
§ SIR WILLIAM HARCOURTOf course, Sir, there is no legal authority which could deal with the matters referred to by the hon. Member. The proper course would be for him to call the attention of the Medical Council, which has power to act by the 21 & 22 Vict. to these cases, and ask them to put the Act in force against them.