§ Lord Balnielasked the Minister of Health what efficiency studies have been and are being conducted into the possibility of reducing the amount of paper work involved in the hospitial service, in the general practitioner service and in the health and welfare services; and what effect these studies have had in reducing the amount of time spent by persons in the National Health Service in filling in forms.
§ Mr. K. RobinsonOver 500 efficiency studies of hospital activities requiring paper work have been completed or are in hand, besides other studies commissioned by hospital and local authorities. I have received and am about to publish a report from the Central Health Services Advisory Council on the standardisation of medical records in hospitals. Efficiency studies were made on the procedures for registration of patients with doctors in the general practitioner service before and after their introduction. In my discussions with the representatives of the general practitioners provisional agreement has been reached on a drastic reduction in the number of National Insurance certificates doctors will have to give. It is not possible to estimate the saving of time resulting from these studies.