§ Dr. Roger Thomasasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will make a statement on his proposals for the wider use within the Health Service of doctor substitution and multi-disciplinary teams; and if he will first consider a strict definition of what will be expected from non-medical health professions working under such circumstances.
§ Dr. VaughanAs the Government's response to the Fourth Report from the Social Services Committee—Cmnd. 8479—made clear, there are a number of areas—particularly in services for elderly people, for mental illness and mental handicap—where the importance of a multi-disciplinary approach to patient care is being increasingly recognised. We welcome this general trend and the impetus it provides for a more flexible use of professional skills across all the health care professions. In addition to the specific developments in this field set out in Cmnd. 8479, we would welcome further experiments to identify alternative ways of deploying professional skills and experience to meet patients' needs. These are matters for local discussion and agreement between representatives of the professions concerned.