§ 77. Mr. Keelingasked the Minister of Health whether he is aware that some National Health Service doctors decline to write prescriptions for laxatives, first-aid dressings, antiseptics and other household remedies which before the service came into existence were not normally obtained on a medical prescription; and whether he will make a statement on this matter.
§ Mr. BevanIt is the duty of a doctor under the National Health Service to prescribe any drug or prescribed appliance which he considers necessary for the treatment of a patient or for the prevention of disease, but it is no part of his responsibility to prescribe drugs and household remedies for healthy persons for purposes of self-medication.