§ Mr. WallaceTo ask the Secretary of State for Health whether his Department plans to publish any response to or initiate any public discussion on the report from the British Medical Association's board of science and education entitled "Selection of Casualties for Treatment After Nuclear Attack", and if he will make a statement.
§ Mrs. CurrieThe Government have no plans to respond to the report quoted, nor to initiate public discussion of it. We have no plans to depart from the widely accepted principles of medical triage.
Government advice about the effects of nuclear attack, including the scale of casualties, is contained in section 2 of the Home Office publication, "Emergency Planning Guidance to Local Authorities" issued in 1985. Further advice concerning the treatment of casualties following nuclear attack is given in part 4 of health circular (88)31, "Emergency Planning in the NHS: Health Service Responsibilities in Civil Defence", issued in July 1988.