§ MR. ARTHUR WILLIAMS (Glamorgan, S.)asked the President of the Local Government Board, Whether he is aware that there is no vaccination station in Wales at which a public vaccinator is authorized to give the certificate of proficiency in vaccination required by the Local Government Board of every medical man before he can hold a Poor Law appointment, and that, in consequence, medical men obtaining Poor Law appointments in Wales have to make journeys, at much expense and inconvenience, to Bristol, Liverpool, or London, to obtain their certificates; and, whether he will take steps for appointing a public vaccinator in two or three of the larger Welsh towns?
§ THE PRESIDENT (Mr. RITCHIE) (Tower Hamlets, St. George's)The hon. Member is under a misapprehension in supposing that a certificate of proficiency in vaccination is required by the Local Government Board of every medical man before he can hold a Poor Law appointment. The certificate is required, not for a Poor Law appointment, but for the office of public vaccinator. It is the case that there is no public vaccination station in Wales at 654 which this certificate can be obtained; but the Board are not aware that any serious inconvenience has been occasioned thereby. The College of Physicians, the College of Surgeons, and the Apothecaries Society now require the certificate from every candidate for their diploma or licence, and hence most medical men now obtain these certificates before entering on practice. It is not usual to appoint examiners to grant these certificates in towns in which there is no School of Medicine. But if a Medical School should be established for Wales, I shall be prepared to consider the question of appointing an examiner who would be authorized to give these certificates.