Mr. ROBINSONasked the Minister of Pensions if his attention has been drawn to the delay, ranging from two to eight days, before a man applying for treatment may be visited by the area Deputy Commissioner of Medical Service; and if he will consider the desirability of consulting the British Medical Association with a view to arranging terms so that there may be a medical man in every town not more than three miles from the area office that may be consulted by men suffering from their War disabilities, the expenses of medicine and treatment being met by the Ministry of Pensions?
Lieut.-Colonel STANLEYThe occasions which necessitate a visit by a medical officer of the Ministry to a patient s home are comparatively few, and it has long been the practice of the Ministry to employ a medical man on the fee basis in the rare cases where the Deputy Commissioner of Medical Services is not able to visit the case with reasonable promptness. At the same time, I may remind the hon. Member that disabled pensioners, under the arrangements made in connection with 237W National Health Insurance, have normally the services of their insurance practitioners available at call for purposes of treatment at home or otherwise, and my right hon. Friend would not be justified in duplicating those arrangements.