§ Mr. Daggarasked the Secretary of State for War whether he is aware of the dissatisfaction and discontent existing among men of His Majesty's Forces who are discharged while still in hospital and unfit to accept civilian employment; and what steps he is taking to remedy this grievance.
§ Sir J. GriggI should perhaps make it clear that the Ministry of Pensions and not the Service Departments are generally responsible for the care of those who are disabled owing to war service and are unfit as a result for further service in the1242W Forces. But I realise that the present rules governing discharge have given rise to complaint in the case of those who are discharged from the Service relatively soon. In some of these cases hospital treatment may be needed almost indefinitely, and I am advised that it would often be impossible to define any stage of disability which could determine when the officer or man should be discharged from the Service. It has been decided, therefore, that the fairest way of dealing with these cases is to fix a minimum period. In future, no member of the Forces, whose in-patient treatment in a Service or E.M.S. hospital is not completed, will be discharged from the Service until at least eight calendar months, including 56 days' notice leave, have elapsed from the date of his first absence from duty on account of the disability. The new rule does not apply to patients, such as those who are suffering from tuberculosis, once they have been transferred to civil sanatoria. On the other hand it will not operate to shorten any longer period of retention in the Service now admissible under normal regulations. It will be applied also to those who become due for release from the Forces when demobilization takes place. It will not, however, apply to those suffering from disabilities such as self-inflicted wounds which are due to their own fault.