HC Deb 14 April 1972 vol 834 c246W
Miss Quennell

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many applicants for treatment in his Department's specialised tropical units have been rejected by his Department's area medical board.

Mr. Dean

None. Medical boards act only in an advisory capacity in relation to war pensions matters. Decisions on applications for treatment are made by the Department's own doctors who are aware of the undertaking given by our predecessors that any Far Eastern prisoner of war who considers he is suffering from a condition which results from his experience as a prisoner of war may, if he asks for a medical check-up, be admitted to a tropical unit for special investigation.