The Services
1
1102 That was, then, to be altered in this way :- "Where, however, in any particular case the avoidance of future pregnancy seems desirable on medical grounds, it is open to the medical officer of the centre, if he or she thinks it necessary, to explain to the mother how and where the appro - priate information or advice can be obtained." He (Sir B. Peto) did not, nor did the other hon. Members who were interested in the question, regard that as satis- factory. He could not see why, if it was left to the discretion of the medical officer, male or female, to deal with such a question, he should be instructed practically to withhold the advice, but to send the patient somewhere else to a wholly unsuitable place-namely, one of the general hospitals or to a special medical adviser, which in the case of a poor woman was really derisory advice, and advice which she could not follow. Xo alteration whatever was made in the regulations. In April, 1926, the question was raised in the House of Lords by Lord Buckmaster, and the resolution then moved was passed in spite of the opposition of the Government by 57 votes to 41. He hoped that the Govern- ment would not tell the Committee that there was no restraint put upon these doctors, for it was clearly understood that if the doctors sent their patients to get information elsewhere there was a great risk of the Government assistance to these clinics being withheld. Passing to venereal disease, he said that the Ministry of Health confined itself to dealing with the disease after it had taken hold, and refused to apply any preventive measures or allow the civil population access to preventive measures. In both the Army and Xavy admirable results had followed from preventive measures. He wanted to know whether the Minister could say now, as was said by the Minister in 1925, in answer to a deputation of the combined societies--the Social Hygiene Council and the Society for the Prevention of Venereal Disease--that the recommendation of the report, now six years old, should be given effect to. He (Sir B. Peto) urged that it was not reasonable or right to allow the policy of the Ministry of Health to be governed purely by the opinion of one religious sect or another. Mr. PETHICK-LAWRENCE asked what steps the Government had taken already to classify the maternity death-rate. The question of birth control was a difficult and delicate one. But he was convinced that they could not found morality upon ignorance. Any attempt to do so in the twentieth century was foredoomed to failure. Women belonging to one class already had that knowledge, and he was quite certain that if the information was not given to women scientifically and reverently by those who were the officers of the State they would obtain it in other BBays less correct, and very likely much more injurious. When that undesirable form of information had been disseminated among women it would be very difficult to eradicate it. The Ministry of Health would be making a grave mistake if they did not see that the time had come to reconsider their original decision. Mr. BLUNDELL said that there was not the slightest shadow of evidence that the failure of maternal mortality figures to diminish had been due to the failure of the maternity and child welfare clinics to give information about birth control. He wondered if the supporters of birth control had read the report of the medical officer of health for Birmingham for 1926. If they had done so, although that gentleman was himself a professed advocate of birth control, he (Mr. Blundell) thought that they would get information there which would cause them to have doubts before they advocated the teaching of these practices in public clinics. Sir Kingsley TVood’s Reply. Sir KINGSLEY WOOD (Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Health), replying to the debate, said that he had some sympathy with the speech of Dr. Watts, and he felt that there was a good deal in what that hon. Member had said. He would point out that the total cost of poor-law administration in money and kind for last year was over .815,000,000 as compared with je5,750,000 in 1921. In the administration of such a large sum of money due care had been exercised and at the same time justice and fairness had been done to the people concerned. He was surprised that Mr. Lawson, who had held a ministerial position himself, should have thought fit to make such an attack on the bona fides and honesty of one of the inspectors of the Ministry of Health. That officer, and he believed the whole of the people concerned in the case which Mr. Lawson had raised, had no other wish than to ascertain the truth and report correctly and honestly to the Minister of Health. If Mr. Lawson would consult any medical Member of the House he would be told that no question of under-nourish- ment affected either the disease of diphtheria or the unfortunate death of the child which followed. Inquiries had been made since the matter was raised of both the father and aunt of the child, and it appeared that she was perfectly well nourished, and up to the day of the onset of her illness the relieving officer himself stated that he had never noticed any signs of malnutrition in any of the children of this family, while a medical practitioner of long experience who had known the child since birth was satisfied when he saw her on a material date that there was no sign of anything of the kind. The Ministry of Health were fully satisfied that there was no foundation for the allegations. The matter raised by Sir B. Peto was a highly controversial and difficult one. The Minister of Health and his Department took the view that the present formula that was directed to the conduct of the maternity centres should be maintained. They would maintain that formula until the House of Commons came to a contrary decision. It would be a great pity if the excellent work of these centres, numbering over 2000, which were attended by about a third of the mothers who gave birth to children, were involved in a controversy of this kind. In regard to the speeches made in the debate on the question of housing he (Sir K. Wood) thought if one could not be optimistic about what had been done in relation to housing in this country one must be a very pessimistic person indeed. While the Ministry felt that the corner had been turned in regard to housing they did not consider that their work in that matter had ceased. They intended to go on with the housing programme and continue the considerable work which was being done by local authorities in regard to the repair of houses. HOUSE OF COMMONS. TUESDAY, MAY 23ND. Voluntary Hospitals and Motor Accidents. Mr. LUNN asked the Minister of Health whether, in view of the great increase in cases caused by motor accidents which had to be dealt with by the hospitals, he would take steps to call a conference between representatives of the voluntary hospitals, insurance companies, and other organisa- tions concerned, for the purpose of drafting a scheme to cover the expenses of the treatment of cases caused by motor accidents.--Sir KINGSLEY WOOD replied My right hon. friend must receive and consider the forthcoming final report of the Voluntary Hospitals Commission before deciding whether to take action on the lines which the hon. Member suggests. (In reply to a previous question it. was stated that the report would be issued this month.) The Services. ROYAL NAVAL MEDICAL SERVICE. A. R. Ewart and M. Clifford to be Surg. Lts. Surg. Comdrs : C. M. R. Thatcher to Greenwich, in continuation, and as Naval Health Officer and Medical Transport ; F. C. Hunot to Victory XL, for R.N. Hospl., Portland ; and G. D. Fergusson to .1Waine; J. S. Orwin to Royal Sovereign (on recommg.); and G. E. D. Ellis to Victory XI., for Portland Dockyard. Surg. Lt.-Comdrs : A. B. Grant to Cambrian, and J. E. Clarke to President, addl., for three months’ post-graduate course. ROYAL AR,MY MEDICAL CORPS. Maj. (Temp. Lt.-Col.) B. Biggar from the Seed. List is restd. to the estabt. and relinquishes the temp. rank of Lt.-Col. Capts. D. H. Coats, G. T. Garraway, and P. G. Russell to be Majs. A. MacMillan to be Lt. on prob. ARMY DENTAL CORPS. The undermentioned Lts. to be Capts.: F. F. Anslow and W. B. Purnell. RESERVE OF OFFICERS. Lt.-Col. R. McK. Skinner, having attained the age-limit of liability to recall, ceases to belong to the Res. of Offs. SUPPLEMENTARY RESERVE OF OFFICERS. B. R. Crossley to be Lt. TERRITORIAL ARMY. Maj. F. R. Harris, having attained the age-limit relin- quishes his commission. Maj. A. Morris, having attained the age-limit, retires, and retains his rank with permission to wear the prescribed £ uniform. ROYAL AIR FORCE. The undermentioned are granted permanent commissions in the ranks stated : Flight Lts. F. B. C. Lindesay, B. Crawford, and R. G. Freeman. Flight Lt. T. Sheehan relinquishes his temporary com- mission on completion of service and is permitted to retain his rank. ’
Transcript of The Services
1102
That was, then, to be altered in this way :-"Where, however, in any particular case the avoidance of
future pregnancy seems desirable on medical grounds, it isopen to the medical officer of the centre, if he or she thinks itnecessary, to explain to the mother how and where the appro -priate information or advice can be obtained."He (Sir B. Peto) did not, nor did the other hon. Members
who were interested in the question, regard that as satis-factory. He could not see why, if it was left to the discretionof the medical officer, male or female, to deal with such aquestion, he should be instructed practically to withholdthe advice, but to send the patient somewhere else to awholly unsuitable place-namely, one of the general hospitalsor to a special medical adviser, which in the case of a poorwoman was really derisory advice, and advice which shecould not follow. Xo alteration whatever was made in theregulations. In April, 1926, the question was raised in theHouse of Lords by Lord Buckmaster, and the resolutionthen moved was passed in spite of the opposition of theGovernment by 57 votes to 41. He hoped that the Govern-ment would not tell the Committee that there was no restraintput upon these doctors, for it was clearly understood thatif the doctors sent their patients to get information elsewherethere was a great risk of the Government assistance to theseclinics being withheld. Passing to venereal disease, he saidthat the Ministry of Health confined itself to dealing withthe disease after it had taken hold, and refused to apply anypreventive measures or allow the civil population access topreventive measures. In both the Army and Xavy admirableresults had followed from preventive measures. He wantedto know whether the Minister could say now, as was saidby the Minister in 1925, in answer to a deputation of thecombined societies--the Social Hygiene Council and theSociety for the Prevention of Venereal Disease--that therecommendation of the report, now six years old, should begiven effect to. He (Sir B. Peto) urged that it was notreasonable or right to allow the policy of the Ministry ofHealth to be governed purely by the opinion of one religioussect or another.
Mr. PETHICK-LAWRENCE asked what steps the Governmenthad taken already to classify the maternity death-rate.The question of birth control was a difficult and delicate one.But he was convinced that they could not found moralityupon ignorance. Any attempt to do so in the twentiethcentury was foredoomed to failure. Women belonging toone class already had that knowledge, and he was quitecertain that if the information was not given to womenscientifically and reverently by those who were the officersof the State they would obtain it in other BBays less correct,and very likely much more injurious. When that undesirableform of information had been disseminated among womenit would be very difficult to eradicate it. The Ministry ofHealth would be making a grave mistake if they did notsee that the time had come to reconsider their originaldecision.
Mr. BLUNDELL said that there was not the slightestshadow of evidence that the failure of maternal mortalityfigures to diminish had been due to the failure of thematernity and child welfare clinics to give informationabout birth control. He wondered if the supporters ofbirth control had read the report of the medical officer ofhealth for Birmingham for 1926. If they had done so,although that gentleman was himself a professed advocateof birth control, he (Mr. Blundell) thought that they wouldget information there which would cause them to havedoubts before they advocated the teaching of these practicesin public clinics.
Sir Kingsley TVood’s Reply.Sir KINGSLEY WOOD (Parliamentary Secretary to the
Ministry of Health), replying to the debate, said that he hadsome sympathy with the speech of Dr. Watts, and he feltthat there was a good deal in what that hon. Member hadsaid. He would point out that the total cost of poor-lawadministration in money and kind for last year was over.815,000,000 as compared with je5,750,000 in 1921. In theadministration of such a large sum of money due care hadbeen exercised and at the same time justice and fairnesshad been done to the people concerned. He was surprisedthat Mr. Lawson, who had held a ministerial position himself,should have thought fit to make such an attack on thebona fides and honesty of one of the inspectors of theMinistry of Health. That officer, and he believed the wholeof the people concerned in the case which Mr. Lawson hadraised, had no other wish than to ascertain the truth andreport correctly and honestly to the Minister of Health.If Mr. Lawson would consult any medical Member of theHouse he would be told that no question of under-nourish-ment affected either the disease of diphtheria or theunfortunate death of the child which followed. Inquirieshad been made since the matter was raised of both thefather and aunt of the child, and it appeared that she wasperfectly well nourished, and up to the day of the onsetof her illness the relieving officer himself stated that he had
never noticed any signs of malnutrition in any of the childrenof this family, while a medical practitioner of long experiencewho had known the child since birth was satisfied when hesaw her on a material date that there was no sign of anythingof the kind. The Ministry of Health were fully satisfiedthat there was no foundation for the allegations. The matterraised by Sir B. Peto was a highly controversial and difficultone. The Minister of Health and his Department took theview that the present formula that was directed to theconduct of the maternity centres should be maintained.They would maintain that formula until the House ofCommons came to a contrary decision. It would be a greatpity if the excellent work of these centres, numbering over2000, which were attended by about a third of the motherswho gave birth to children, were involved in a controversyof this kind. In regard to the speeches made in the debateon the question of housing he (Sir K. Wood) thought if onecould not be optimistic about what had been done inrelation to housing in this country one must be a verypessimistic person indeed. While the Ministry felt that the
corner had been turned in regard to housing they did notconsider that their work in that matter had ceased. Theyintended to go on with the housing programme and continuethe considerable work which was being done by localauthorities in regard to the repair of houses.
HOUSE OF COMMONS.TUESDAY, MAY 23ND.
Voluntary Hospitals and Motor Accidents.Mr. LUNN asked the Minister of Health whether, in
view of the great increase in cases caused by motor accidentswhich had to be dealt with by the hospitals, he would takesteps to call a conference between representatives of thevoluntary hospitals, insurance companies, and other organisa-tions concerned, for the purpose of drafting a scheme tocover the expenses of the treatment of cases caused by motoraccidents.--Sir KINGSLEY WOOD replied My right hon.friend must receive and consider the forthcoming finalreport of the Voluntary Hospitals Commission beforedeciding whether to take action on the lines which the hon.Member suggests. (In reply to a previous question it.was stated that the report would be issued this month.)
The Services.ROYAL NAVAL MEDICAL SERVICE.
A. R. Ewart and M. Clifford to be Surg. Lts.Surg. Comdrs : C. M. R. Thatcher to Greenwich, in
continuation, and as Naval Health Officer and MedicalTransport ; F. C. Hunot to Victory XL, for R.N. Hospl.,Portland ; and G. D. Fergusson to .1Waine; J. S. Orwinto Royal Sovereign (on recommg.); and G. E. D. Ellisto Victory XI., for Portland Dockyard.
Surg. Lt.-Comdrs : A. B. Grant to Cambrian, and J. E.Clarke to President, addl., for three months’ post-graduatecourse.
ROYAL AR,MY MEDICAL CORPS.
Maj. (Temp. Lt.-Col.) B. Biggar from the Seed. List isrestd. to the estabt. and relinquishes the temp. rank ofLt.-Col.
Capts. D. H. Coats, G. T. Garraway, and P. G. Russellto be Majs.
A. MacMillan to be Lt. on prob.ARMY DENTAL CORPS.
The undermentioned Lts. to be Capts.: F. F. Anslowand W. B. Purnell.
RESERVE OF OFFICERS.
Lt.-Col. R. McK. Skinner, having attained the age-limitof liability to recall, ceases to belong to the Res. of Offs.
SUPPLEMENTARY RESERVE OF OFFICERS.
B. R. Crossley to be Lt.
TERRITORIAL ARMY.
Maj. F. R. Harris, having attained the age-limit relin-quishes his commission.
Maj. A. Morris, having attained the age-limit, retires, andretains his rank with permission to wear the prescribed £uniform.
ROYAL AIR FORCE.The undermentioned are granted permanent commissions
in the ranks stated : Flight Lts. F. B. C. Lindesay,B. Crawford, and R. G. Freeman.
Flight Lt. T. Sheehan relinquishes his temporary com-mission on completion of service and is permitted to retainhis rank. ’
