§ SIR WALTER FOSTER (Derbyshire, Ilkestone)I beg to ask the President of the Local Government Board whether his attention has been called to the action of the West Bromwich Guardians in appointing a district medical officer at a fixed salary, which is to include payment for all those cases which the Consolidated Order of 24th July 1847 expressly provides shall be paid for as extras; and, whether Articles 177 to 183 of this Order 781 have been suspended as regards the West Bromwich Union; if so, whether he will inquire if the reasons which justified the suspension still hold good, seeing that the Local Government Board last year called special attention to the articles of the Order which require that district medical officers shall have extra remuneration for operations and certain other cases?
§ MR. T. W. RUSSELLThe operation of the Articles in the Regulations relating to the payment of extra fees to Medical Officers in the West Bromwich Union was suspended in 1862 on the application of the Guardians. The Guardians stated that they proposed this arrangement in consequence of continual disputes in connection with claims by the Medical Officers to fees. All the Medical Officers of the Union who have been appointed since that time have been appointed at salaries inclusive of the extra fees. The Local Government Board have not received any suggestion from the Guardians or the Officers that the arrangement is not working satisfactorily.
§ SIR WALTER FOSTERasked whether the hon. Gentleman did not consider that the Order of 30 odd years ago was one of long date on which to take present action, especially when that action was contrary to the spirit of the recent regulations of the Local Government Board?
§ MR. T. W. RUSSELLsaid that if any application was made to the Local Government Board by either Guardians or Officers it would be considered.