§ Dr. Roger Thomasasked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether the National Health Service has sufficient consultant neurosurgeons in specialised units to ensure that all persons with head injuries admitted to hospitals are examined by such consultants, particularly if coma of more than four hours duration follows the injury.
§ Dr. VaughanThe number of consultant neurosurgeons is increasing. There were 88 in post in 1980 compared with 74 in 1970. This is not sufficient to enable all patients with head injuries admitted to hospital to be examined by a consultant neurosurgeon, but I am advised that this is not considered necessary in all cases, since many are only minor injuries. The appropriate treatment for cases of head injury is a medical matter. I am aware of the recommendation in a paper by R. V. Jeffreys and J. J. Jones, published inThe Lancet for 29 August 1981, that patients remaining unconscious for four hours after a head injury should be transferred to a specialised unit. Should such a policy be accepted by the profession, the Department would be willing to examine the practical implications of putting it into effect.