LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Section 47
S111,—In your issue of March 9th you published a letter from "Consul- tant Physician " in which he stated that he took exception to the provisions contained in Section 47 of the National Health Service Act. As that Section of that Act bears no relation to the subject upon which he gave his opinion, I assume that your correspondent was referring to Section 47 of the National Assistance Act, 1948. The mistake is an easy one to make in view of the fact that the administration of Section 47 of the National Assistance Act is a matter for the Minister of Health.
"Consultant Physician" claims that before the operation of the Act the only compulsory removal of patients encountered in ordinary medical practice was that for dealing with persons of unsound mind. This, also, is not quite accurate. General medical practitioners with experience of practice before the Act will remember that it was a duty of Relieving Officers to remove patients who were without care and attention. These cases were then treated in Poor Law institutions and their existence was unknown to many people.
The only real differences brought about by Section 47 of the National Assistance Act are that the responsibility for removal now falls upon the Medical Officer of Health and that seven clear days' notice must be given to the patient before removal can be effected. I feel sure that your correspondent will agree with me that Medical Officers of Health are unlikely to show any lower standards of discernment, tact and efficiency than the high ones which were maintained by Relieving Officers. The enforced waiting period of seven clear days is a provision in the Act which I believe needs further consideration, since cases have occurred recently in which persons destitute of all care, suffering from acute illness or serious injury and refusing to accept attention have had their chances of recovery jeopardised by the week's delay in admission to hospital.
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