§ Mr. HindTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what are his Department's priorities for research in the fields of health and personal social services; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. FreemanThe research programmes directly supported by the Department are designed to contribute to the efficiency of the health and social services by promoting improvements in organisation, operation and management.
325WBearing in mind the primary responsibility of the Medical Research Council for biomedical and clinical research, we have concluded that the health and personal social services programme should now concentrate on the following areas:
Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS); professional manpower;primary health care;the demands on, and effectiveness of, acute sector services;the transition to, and maintenance of, community care;consumer attitudes to the health and personal social services;the influencing of lifestyles, for example in relation to drug abuse;child abuse.The Department will also be contributing to a programme of breast cancer screening research in follow-up to the research recommendations of the Forrest report.