§ 6. Sir D. Robertsonasked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he is aware that patients under the National Health Service Act in Caithness and other Highland counties, who suffer from bladder troubles, have to go to Edinburgh for treatment, and on each occasion this involves them in a loss of at least three days' pay, plus the cost of lodgings and return fares; that the allowance given by the National Assistance Board covers only a fraction of the cost; and if he will take steps to set up at Raigmore Hospital, Inverness, treatment facilities for bladder complaints to serve all the northern counties in order to save time and expense.
Commander GalbraithTreatment for the majority of such patients is available at Inverness. While a very few patients in need of treatment by highly specialised techniques have to be referred elsewhere, the number is too small to support a fully developed unit. Payments by the National Assistance Board to patients travelling for this purpose are designed to obviate hardship.