HC Deb 06 August 1918 vol 109 cc1300-1

Lords drafting Amendments agreed to.

Lords Amendment: Leave out the words Provided that the local education authority shall not establish a general domiciliary service of treatment by medical practitioners for children and young persons to whom this Section applies, and in making arrangements for their treatment the local education authority shall consider how far they can avail themselves of the services of private medical practitioners.

Motion made, and Question proposed, "That this House doth agree with the Committee in the said Resolution."

Mr. KING

Here the privileges of the doctors as private practitioners are more exercised than we here intended. The two hon. Members who were specially interested in this question are not able to be here at this late hour, but they both feel that this Amendment is a serious inroad upon what was intended. Perhaps the President of the Board has some explanation to give?

Mr. FISHER

I think I can easily satisfy the House on this point. Originally there was a Clause in the Bill which provided for a school medical service, and one section provided for the treatment of young persons attending continuation classes. In deference to the view of the medical profession, words were inserted in the Clause providing that a domiciliary service should be established. After that Clause was passed in Committee, an Amendment was accepted on the Report stage which imposes upon Part III. authorities the obligation to provide medical treatment in public elementary schools. It was felt desirable that the same provision should apply to the medical treatment of children in elementary schools as applied, by common consent of this House, to the medical treatment of any person attending continuation classes. The most convenient way to give effect to this purpose was to insert the new Clause.

Mr. ROWNTREE

Is the right hon. Gentleman quite satisfied about this? I gather from what he said that, at any rate, the last part of the Clause carries out the general custom of the Board at the present time. But supposing there was an actual shortage of medical assistance in a vicinity, and it was found that the children were actually suffering from lack of that medical assistance might this Clause prevent the Board really seeing that, even in the homes of the children, they were properly attended? Since this Amendment was accepted by the Government in the House of Lords corespondence has reached some of us from those interested, and I should like to be fully assured that my right hon. Friend is satisfied that the Government ought not to have gone too far.

Mr. FISHER

The last words in the New Clause to follow should, I think, satisfy my hon. Friend. If he looks at them he will find that "a local education authority shall consider how far they can avail themselves of the services of private medical practitioners." It is for the local education authority to make the best arrangement it can.

Question put, and agreed to.