HC Deb 04 August 1898 vol 64 cc87-8
MR. TENNANT

I beg to ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will inform the House what the duties of the new medical officer of the Factory Department will be, and whether he will lay upon the Table the instructions under Which that officer will act; and whether he has yet made the appointment?

THE SECRETARY OF STATE FOR THE HOME DEPARTMENT

I settled these instructions some weeks ago, and shall be glad to state their effect. Briefly they are as follows:—The medical inspector will reside in London, and his services will be available throughout the country wherever they are required. He will conduct special and general inquiries into questions of health and safety as the chief inspector may direct; he will exercise general supervision over the work of certifying surgeons, especially where they have duties with regard to dangerous industries; he will deal with the notices of lead and other poisoning received under the Act of 1895; he will advise the staff generally on all medical questions connected with their work, and will give evidence in proceedings when so directed by the chief inspector, though he will not himself institute prosecutions unless specially directed. In visiting factories, workshops, and other places, he will give special attention to all matters affecting the health and safety of the persons employed; he will supply to the district inspectors particulars of any irregularities, defects, or infringements of the Acts which he may observe, and also particulars of any recommendations he may make to occupiers, and he will call the special attention of the district inspectors to cases where he considers any structural alteration necessary or a prosecution desirable. He will also visit hospitals in places where industrial diseases prevail, and, generally, he will act in co-operation with the other members of the staff, the certifying surgeons, and the local authorities. I have appointed to the office Dr. Thomas Morison Legge.

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