79. Major DAVIESasked the Minister of National Service whether his attention has been called to cases of men who have been enlisted into the Army while suffering from tuberculosis and who had produced certificates from the tuberculosis officer which were ignored by the medical boards; and whether he proposes to issue instructions to the medical boards, inconformity with Army Council Instruction No. 908/16, providing that a certificate from the tuberculosis officer or the medical officer of health is satisfactory evidence that a man is suffering from tuberculosis and that no further diagnosis is necessary?
§ The MINISTER of NATIONAL SERVICE (Sir Auckland Geddes)No, Sir, I am not aware of any such cases. Certificates from tuberculosis officers are not ignored by National Service Medical Boards. On the contrary, all such certificates and all the evidence obtained from tuberculosis officers are carefully considered as directed in National Service Instruction No. 18, of 1917, which has been referred to in previous answers made on this subject to my hon. and gallant Friend. It must, however, be obvious that the decision in any case in which the presence of tuberculosis is alleged must rest with the medical board who are responsible for the diagnosis. I may add that the procedure laid down in the National Service Instruction was settled in consultation with some of the most eminent specialists in pulmonary disease in this country, and with the full concurrence of the Local Government Board. The Army Council Instruction to which my hon. and gallant Friend refers is, I am informed, about to be withdrawn, and an Instruction embodying National Service Instruction No. 18 will be circulated by the War Office for the information and guidance of their medical officers.