§ Mr. Sorensenasked the Minister of Health whether he is aware of the acute suffering and hardship caused by the removal of certain patients from hospitals to their homes by the refusal of beds to patients needing special treatment and by the relative scarcity of medical services in reception areas, and also of the number of doctors, nurses and other medical staff on duty but performing no immediate service in hospitals allocated to deal with air-raid victims; and whether he will devise a scheme to enable a portion of such medical staff to be temporarily available for work among evacuees and for beds also to be put into temporary use?
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§ Miss HorsbrughMy right hon. Friend is aware that difficulties and hardships have inevitably arisen from the far-reaching steps which were of necessity taken to deal with the possibility of large numbers of casualties from air raids.
Numerous steps have been taken to enable the best possible use to be made of the hospital accommodation and medical and nursing personnel at present available, and, in particular, arrangements have been made to release for part-time service in private practice a number of doctors at present employed in the Emergency medical service. In addition, all possible publicity has been given to several announcements that patients whose condition requires hospital treatment, whether in-patient or oat-patient, should certainly receive it. My right hon. Friend is continuing to keep the situation closely under review.