HC Deb 31 May 1965 vol 713 cc1166-7
20. Mr. Cordle

asked the Minister of Health whether he will give publicity to the facilities which now exist for regular routine medical examinations and their desirability in the interest of good health; and whether he will extend the facilities for mass-radiography for the early diagnosis of lung diseases, by setting up clinics for regular periodic medical examinations.

Mr. Loughlin

Local publicity is already given to existing facilities. I am advised that regular medical examinations are of value chiefly for selected groups of people or for specific purposes; apart from screening for cervical cancer my right hon. Friend has no plans for a general extension of such services at the present time.

Mr. Cordle

Is the Minister aware that there are many patients, both of medical practitioners and of hospitals, who are suffering from chronic diseases and who could have had an alleviation or an avoidance of the disease had it been detected in its early stages? I wondered whether a scheme could be set up for more regular check-ups, perhaps on a yearly basis. Surely that would eventually reduce the number of cases as well as the expensive and long treatment.

Mr. Loughlin

The hon. Member ought to be very careful here. There may be a case to be made for routine examinations for specific diseases, but our medical advice is that it would possibly even be dangerous to institute a routine examination of a general kind on a systematic basis, because we should have a considerable number of people bothering about minor symptoms and thinking that they had the disease.

Mr. Tilney

Is the hon. Member aware that in diabetes and certain forms of cancer there is a fear of the unknown and that early action might prevent much future suffering?

Mr. Loughlin

There is some doubt whether this is so. If I may use diabetes as an illustration, medical opinion is that it might be inadvisable to institute routine screening for diabetes at present until some of the causes of the disease are known.

Mr. Wood

Does the argument which the Minister is putting forward also apply to psychological screening for cancer which the Government believed absolutely right and were trying to carry forward?

Mr. Loughlin

It may well be that the arguments which one applies to a general issue would apply to a specific issue. The right hon. Gentleman ought to know that we are completely guided by medical opinion in this respect. If he were in the same position as we are, he would have to do the same; he would have to be guided by medical opinion—as we are being guided by it.

Sir Knox Cunningham

Is it not a fact that medical opinion on the other side of the Atlantic is very much in favour of a general check-up at stated periods? Will not the Minister also take that into consideration.

Mr. Loughlin

I do not know why the hon. and learned Gentleman is so self-righteous. We are taking into account not only medical opinion on this side of the Atlantic but medical opinion on the other side of the Atlantic, too.