HC Deb 21 January 1988 vol 125 cc842-3W
Mr. Cohen

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services whether plans for the National Health Service in the event of war indicate the number and the method by which patients will be discharged from National Health Service hospitals to make way for casualties; and if he will make a statement.

Mrs. Currie

During a period of tension and when directed by the Secretary of State, health authorities would cease to admit all but emergency cases and arrange to send home as many as possible of the patients in hospitals and nursing homes whose retention was not medically essential. The selection of patients for discharge would be made on medical advice and would take account of the availability of accommodation and facilities for care in the community. Contingency plans do not refer to numbers of patients since these would depend on the prevailing circumstances.

Mr. Cohen

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services whether plans for the National Health Service in the event of war indicate in detail the role of doctors and how they are expected to choose between the injured who may be treated and those who will be left to die; and if he will make a statement.

Mrs. Currie

We are at present considering revised guidance on civil defence planning in the National Health Service but it will not attempt to detail the role of doctors. Planning officers whom we expect to respond to the guidance are aware of the need to take account of all available resources in drawing up detailed plans, and that the sorting of casualties is a matter for professional judgment in the light of the particular circumstances.

After any disaster the responsibility for sorting casualties and allocating priorities for treatment lies with doctors or ambulance personnel attending the injured at the material time. This principle applies in both peacetime and wartime emergencies.