Mr. Malcolm MacDonald tried in vain to rouse the House
by a recital of the improvements in health in 1939 and by comments on the enhanced well-being of school children removed to the countryside and by praise of the new milk policy But this is all common ground, and much of it has already been mentioned by other Ministers. Again it is gener- ally agreed that hospital arrangements for the treatment of wounded soldiers and civilians were well-planned. It was only when Mr. MacDonald spoke of war conditions and prospects in Health Insurance that any interest was evoked. He announced that 489,00o school children have left the evacuation areas of Greater London, a figure which includes some 300,000 of the half-million London children. References were made to the Horder Committee, but beyond some mention of new medical inspectors for shelters, no indication was available that energetic action had been taken to deal with health in shelters. Dr. Morgan and Dr. Summerskill spoke with feeling about the dangerous conditions of shelters, whether Anderson, trench or tube. Dr. Morgan attacked the administration of the Ministry of Health and pleaded for a national hospital policy. Dr. Haden Guest pleaded the case for extending Health Insurance to the dependents of all insured persons, and Dr. Summerskill urged the creation of a State Medical Service out of the existing chaos of private practice. One hopes that Mr. MacDonald will begin to lay the foundations of a permanent policy, as he was able to do at the Colonial Office.
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