§ Dr. Roger Thomasasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will carry out an inquiry into the problem that family medical practitioners cannot get a patient admitted to a geriatric department without the patient being seen at home by a consultant, in the light of the probability of such difficulties increasing as the numbers of elderly increase by about 2 per cent. per annum.
§ Sir George YoungThe decision whether to carry out a domiciliary assessment prior to admitting an elderly person to hospital is for the consultant concerned. Practice varies widely, and I am not aware of problems which would warrant an inquiry.