HC Deb 16 July 1968 vol 768 cc1245-6
35. Mr. Maurice Macmillan

asked the Minister of Health when he expects the report on the inquiry into the allegations in "Sans Everything" to be published.

Mr. K. Robinson

I would refer the hon. Member to my reply on 9th July to my hon. Friend the Member for Harrow. East (Mr. Roebuck). A Command Paper containing the findings and recommendations of the six. Committees of Inquiry was published on that day. —[Vol. 768, c. 213–16.]

Mr. Macmillan

Does not the Minister realise that many people are still very disturbed by the results of this Report? Will he accept that there is still a need for some method of continuing inquiry into these institutions? Can he tell the House when he is likely to be able to bring forward concrete proposals?

Mr. Robinson

I do not think that there is any justification for anyone who has read both the book and the White Paper having further anxieties about allegations of deliberate cruelty on the part of the staff of these hospitals. When setting up the Committees of Inquiry I widened their terms of reference so that they could report on conditions in these hospitals today. Many criticisms were made, particularly on such matters as overcrowding, out-of-date buildings, and staff shortages. These are matters of which the House has long been aware— and I have certainly been aware of them. They are progressively being dealt with within the available resources.

Lord Balniel

Does the right hon. Gentleman agree that there are strong arguments for an inspectorate as a mark of public responsibility for those who are inarticulate in hospital, and does he not also think that the reports should be published so that there should be a continuous and well-informed public discussion of the administration of hospitals?

Mr. Robinson

As I am about to publish a Green Paper, this matter should form part of the discussion of the future administrative structure of the service, but it is by no means certain that an inspectorate of the kind that hon. Members opposite have in mind would provide the absolute protection that they seem to think.