§ 9. Mr. Kenneth Lewisasked the Minister of Health what proposals he has for bringing the local practitioner service into closer touch with the hospital service.
§ Mr. RobinsonI attach importance to this. The links between general practitioners and hospitals are becoming closer and I propose by various means to further this trend.
§ Mr. LewisI thank the right hon. Gentleman for that Answer. Would he go ahead with this as quickly as possible, because it will help not only to improve the relationships between the two sides of the profession, but to make better use of the medical profession generally and ease the present situation in the hospitals which are short of medical staff?
§ Mr. RobinsonI would not dissent from a great deal of what the hon. Gentleman says. In most areas hospital X-ray and pathological departments given general practitioners direct access facilities. I am investigating the exceptions to this rule.