§ 16. Mr. Michael McNair-Wilsonasked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he is satisfied with the procedures adopted by hospitals within the National Health Service for examining elderly persons who have been involved in accidents, and for their after-care; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. AlisonYes, Sir, but if my hon. Friend is concerned about a particular case and will send me details I will gladly look into it.
§ Mr. McNair-WilsonIs my hon. Friend aware that some hospitals, at least in the London area, have an inexplicable rule by which, even if a person over 80 years old is admitted after a fall in an accident in which a bone may well have been broken he is not automatically X-rayed? In a recent well-publicised case, an elderly person had to wait four days before the family doctor got to him, meanwhile suffering a great deal of agony because the bone was, in fact, broken.
§ Mr. AlisonI will consider the matter, but the use of X-ray equipment must be 1121 a matter of judgment by the clinical technician.