§ 27. Mr. K. Robinsonasked the Minister of Health what limitations are placed, under his regulations, upon the entitlement of part-time consultants to payment for travelling-time and travelling expenses to and from hospitals.
§ Miss Hornsby-SmithAs the rules which apply are necessarily rather long and complicated, I am sending the hon. Member a copy of them.
§ Mr. RobinsonWould the hon. Lady not agree that the arrangements are also rather generous, to say the least of it? Is it not possible for a doctor to have a consultant appointment in London and live in the north of Scotland and then claim travelling time and travelling expenses involved in getting to the hospital?
§ Miss Hornsby-SmithThe revision of the present arrangements is under consideration by the Medical Whitley Council at the moment. I would rather not add anything to that.
§ 28. Mr. K. Robinsonasked the Minister of Health what is his policy in regard to the acceptance by part-time consultants of sessional contracts in excess of nine-and-a-half sessions per week.
§ Miss Hornsby-SmithSessional contracts must be entirely governed by the amount of work that can be undertaken by the individual part-time officers concerned.
§ Mr. RobinsonIs the hon. Lady aware that there are consultants who are undertaking contracts about double that of the theoretical maximum for part-time consultants? Does that not mean that not only is the work not done properly, 1367 but also that younger consultants are being done out of appointments to which they would otherwise have access?
§ Miss Hornsby-SmithWhile it is true that terms and conditions of service of hospital medical staff do not prohibit part-time medical consultants being employed for a specific number of sessions or hours per week, they also provide that however many hours weekly a part-time consultant is employed he may not be paid more than nine-and-a-half elevenths of the whole-time rate.