§ 41. Mr. Swinglerasked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance if he will now add to the list of prescribed diseases for which industrial benefit is payable bursitis arising at or about the elbow and forearm, due to strain or partial rupture of the muscle origin from the lateral epicondylar ridge, commonly known as tennis elbow.
§ The Minister of Pensions and National Insurance (Mr. John Boyd-Carpenter)I think that the hon. Gentleman has misunderstood the position. Bursitis at or about the elbow caused by external friction or pressure is covered by Prescribed Disease No. 33. The evidence at present available about tennis elbow does not permit it to be brought within the conditions laid down in Section 55 of the Industrial Injuries Act, 1946.
§ Mr. SwinglerIs it not a fact that in certain industries the condition described in my Question is recognised in medical circles as an occupational hazard? It is very close to some of the other prescribed diseases and this specific condition arises in certain industries. I have recently submitted to the right hon. Gentleman's Department a very serious case. Would not he register this as a prescribed disease?
§ Mr. Boyd-CarpenterOn the evidence I have at present, it seems quite clear that tennis elbow, as such, does not come within the definition laid down in Section 55 of the 1946 Act, inasmuch as, among other things, it is a complaint fairly general among the ordinary population.