§ Mr. Alfred MorrisTo ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if he will make it his policy not to allow health authorities not to provide treatments without reference to ministerial protocols; [22496]
(2) if he will bring forward protocols to avoid recurrence of health authorities deciding not to provide treatment to sick children, with special reference to the case of child B. [22497]
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§ Mr. HoramHealth authorities are responsible for assessing the health needs of their local populations and for securing services to meet those needs through available resources. The Government have made it clear that there should be no clinically effective treatment which health authorities decide as a mater of principle should not be provided. There will always be exceptional cases and each should be considered on its merits.