§ 20. Mr. C. Hughesasked the Minister of Health what steps he is taking to deal with the problem of the young chronic sick.
§ Mr. VosperA number of special units have been set up for this purpose, and I intend to include some guidance on the subject in the memorandum on the chronic sick generally which I hope shortly to issue to hospital authorities.
§ Mr. HughesDoes not the Minister agree that urgent action should be taken in all regions to deal with this problem? Is it not undesirable that the young chronic sick should now occupy beds in wards with the aged chronic sick? Although the problem is numerically small, is it not desirable that a quick solution should be found for it?
§ Mr. VosperYes, Sir. Hitherto the advice was that the young chronic sick should be reasonably close to their homes, which involved their being associated on occasions with the old chronic sick. More recent advice, which I shall give to hospital boards, will be to separate them as far as possible.