§ 66. Mr. Carmichaelasked the Secretary of State for Scotland why a child from Scotland was flown to the Mayo Clinic in the United States of America for a hole-in-the-heart operation; what attempts were made within the National Health Service by the child's doctors to have the operation performed in this country; and if he will make a statement on the number of British people taken to the United States of America for medical and surgical treatment.
§ Mr. NobleI understand that the visit was arranged privately and not by the doctors who were looking after the child. I am satisfied that she was being adequately treated under the National Health Service and that the operation would have been performed in Scotland at the time considered appropriate by the consultants concerned. I have no information on the number of British residents who go abroad for medical and surgical treatment.