88. Mr. FREDERICK HALL (Dulwich)asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if his attention has been called to the inquest on a woman held on the 29th March at Hull, when the doctor who was called in stated that the woman would not have died had she received attention earlier, and adding that, owing to the increase of work thrown on him and his partner in connection with the National Insurance Act they now found it impossible to undertake the amount of night work they had previously done, and had to refuse to deal with cases in which they had not a direct interest; if he will state the number of insured persons on the list of the doctor in question; the total number of panel doctors in Hull; and the number of insured persons there?
Mr. ROBERTSONThe Commissioners have made inquiries into the case referred to. They understand that the woman in question was not an insured person but a private patient. So far from stating that she would have lived if she had been attended earlier, the doctor states definitely that she would have died in any case. The number of insured persons on his list for whose treatment he has undertaken responsibility (only a very small proportion of whom, of course, are ill at any one time) is 2,238; the number of doctors on the panel for Hull is seventy-seven, and the number of insured persons approximately 89,000.
Mr. F. HALLIs the hon. Gentleman aware that the doctors stated that if the woman had received earlier treatment she certainly would have lived; and may I ask whether he can inform the House how many persons unfortunately have died in consequence of the unsatisfactory arrangements that have been made in regard to the work of medical officers?