§ 46. Mr. Woodasked the Minister of Health what arrangements exist to meet the cost of medical treatment in cases where a general practitioner recommends hospital care but no bed in a local hospital is available.
§ Mr. K. RobinsonPatients requiring admission urgently on medical grounds can usually be admitted without delay. I have no power to meet the cost of treatment arranged privately.
§ Mr. WoodIn the case of old people who may be acutely ill and have to be admitted but where a hospital bed is not available, is it the Minister's view that the cost of the treatment should fall on friends or relations who may be ill able to afford it?
§ Mr. RobinsonNo, Sir. This I hope would never happen. The right hon. Member's Question referred to a local hospital. It is sometimes possible, if one cannot get admission to a local hospital immediately, to get admission to a rather more distant hospital. If there is a particular case the right hon. Member has in mind, I shall be glad if he will give me details and I will look into it.