§ Sir W. Smithersasked the Minister of Health, in view of the high cost of maintenance of old patients in hospitals and of the shortage of nurses, if he will consider the advisability of setting up a committee to inquire into the practicability of making an all-in payment to relatives or friends who are willing to take chronic cases into their homes.
§ Mr. Iain MacleodI do not think it would be feasible to introduce arrangements of the kind contemplated. Apart from the fact that sometimes it would not be in the interest of patients to be cared for at home, there is already provision whereby, in suitable cases, financial assistance could be sought from the National Assistance Board.