§ MR. BRAMSDON (Portsmouth)I beg to ask the Prime Minister whether his attention has been called to the large number of deaths that occur annually from the effects of anæsthetics administered to patients who are about to undergo, or are undergoing, operations, or after such operations have been performed; whether he is aware that there is no official record of the number of deaths that really occur during anæsthesia, partly because such deaths are sometimes certified as due to causes other than anæsthesia, and in that case are not reported to the coroner, and partly because notification is not followed by official inquiry whether he is aware that those persons who administer anæsthetics are not necessarily specially trained to do so or always registered medical practitioners; and whether, having regard to the greater safety of the public and for the advance of scientific medicine, he will consider the advisability of securing a more accurate and comprehensive knowledge of all the facts connected with the administration 59 of anæsthetics, whether fatal or non-fatal, by appointing a Royal Commission with advisory powers to investigate and report upon the whole question.
§ MR. GLADSTONEMy right hon. friend has asked me to answer this Question. I have not yet completed the inquiries referred to in the Answer which I gave to my hon. friend on the 30th of March. I am not certain that a formal investigation is either necessary or desirable, but the matter is receiving careful consideration.