SIR,—Mr. Herbert Barton's letter is to be welcomed for the
light it throws on long waits for patients and dumbness in doctors. Another aspect of the tvalth service which I think merits investigation is the question of out-patient treatment for the already ailing. Often these people are quite ill, and awaiting admission to hospital, yet, if they want to avoid specialists' fees, they are expected to travel to and from hospital, and are often kept waiting for hour after hour in droughty out-patients' departments on uncomfortable benches. I know of one old lady who has recently had to miss two appointments to see a specialist at the hospital, because, as she explained to me, she was not well enough to get dressed and undertake the journey; that, even if she put on only a few clothes and went by ambulance, there would still be the long wait in the out-patients' hall, which she felt she could not face. A system of priority for patients such as she would surely be of great advantage; their waiting-time could be reduced to the mini- mum, while those in less bodily discomfort might be asked to wait a little longer.
One also hears stories of patients with fractures having to wait for hours before even an X-ray is taken, and then for further hours, often in considerable pain, before the bone is set. No doubt there is a reason fol all thiis, but Ole lack of any explanation can sometimes be very dishear;ening, and one cannot help wondering if doctors and nurses do not occasionally turn to their own advantage the fortitude and long-suffering patience of what Mr. Barton calls "the inarticulate poor."—Yours faithfully,
.10 Lathan' Road, Cambridge.
ROSEMARY SCHOFIELD.
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