§ Mr. Hubbardasked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many patients suffering from active and infectious tuberculosis have had to be sent home from sanitoria in Scotland as a result of the shortage of nurses.
§ Mr. BuchananI presume that the hon. Member has in mind a recent occasion when a ward was closed and seven patients sent home from a sanatorium in his own constituency. Wards in other 359W sanatoria have had to be closed and admissions of new cases temporarily reduced or suspended on account of shortages of staff, but normally it is possible to avoid sending home patients already admitted who still require active treatment. I deplore the necessity either of delaying admissions or sending patients home earlier than is desirable but until adequate nursing and other staffs can be got for the tuberculosis hospitals, the situation cannot be made better.