§ 30. Dr. D. Johnsonasked the Minister of Health whether he will advise hospital management committees to add information, to the effect that the patient can usually obtain the name of the surgeon who has operated upon him by making appropriate inquiries, to the form of consent for operation signed by surgical patients.
§ Mr. BraineNo, Sir; but if my hon. Friend will let me know of any particular case of difficulty I will gladly consider it.
§ Dr. JohnsonWould not my hon. Friend agree that as a general measure it is desirable, particularly in the interests of the doctor-patient relationship, that people should know their rights? We are very grateful for his statement of a fortnight ago, but not every patient signing an operation form will have read HANSARD of a fortnight ago.
§ Mr. BraineAs I told my hon. Friend on that occasion, there should be no difficulty in the patient finding out who performed the operation. Of course, these forms are not used in all cases. My hon. Friend will realise that there are circumstances in which it is impracticable to use them—in emergencies, accidents, and so on. If someone wants this information, there is no difficulty in his getting it.