86. Mr. T. THOMSONasked the Minister of Health whether he approves of the charge made to tuberculous persons in the London area in respect of institutional treatment; and, if so, why, in this respect, has the institutional treatment of tuberculous persons been differentiated from that of the other infectious diseases?
§ Lord E. PERCYMy Department have approved generally of the arrangements made by the London County Council for the assessment of contributions payable by tuberculous persons towards the cost of institutional treatment provided by the council. As regards the second part of the question, the Statutes under which institutional treatment is provided in London for persons suffering from other infectious diseases do not authorise the recovery of any part of the cost of treatment from the patient.
Mr. THOMSONIs there anything in the law to prevent the same treatment being applied to tuberculous cases as there is to infectious cases?
§ Lord E. PERCYThe law is quite different in the two cases.