§ 94. Mr. Masonasked the Minister of Health what special arrangements have been made for the hospitals in the southern counties to be prepared to deal with patients suffering from plutonium poisoning; to what extent research has been conducted in the field of specialised treatment; and if all the hospitals are adequately equipped with the necessary medical supplies to deal with such an emergency.
§ Mr. R. ThompsonHospitals generally are equipped to deal with the toxic effects of exposure to ionising radiations in the light of present knowledge, and research into the effects of such exposure from both internal and external sources is being actively pursued by the Medical Research Council's Radiobiological Research Unit at Harwell and in other places in this country and abroad. I know of no reason to make special arrangements to deal with cases of plutonium poisoning in the southern counties.