§ DR. FARQUHARSONI beg to ask the Under Secretary of State for War how many civilian medical practitioners have been employed during the past year to give professional aid to the troops in Great Britain and Ireland owing to vacancies in the Army Medical Staff; and what were the actual number of vacancies in the Army Medical Service up to 31st December 1896?
§ MR. BRODRICKThe number of civil practitioners specially employed during the past year was 77. It is not possible to associate the engagement of individual practitioners with particular vacancies in the Medical Staff, but there were on the 31st of December last 39 vacancies, and, although 13 surgeons were on probation at Netley, the number of private practitioners engaged was somewhat larger than would otherwise have been the case. There may, therefore, be some connection between the number of private practitioners engaged and the number of vacancies.