§ Lord Mason of Barnsleyasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they will give the number of cases of which they are aware of patients having been refused hospital treatment by doctors or surgeons because they smoke tobacco.
§ Baroness CumberlegeA fundamental principle of the National Health Service is that it is a service available to all on the basis of clinical need. Health authorities are responsible for establishing the necessary procedures in line with this principle but the treatment of an individual patient is a matter of judgment for the clinicians responsible for their care. The Department of Health does not collect comprehensive information linking smoking habits to individual cases or patient episodes.