asked the Secretary of State for Social Services, (1) pursuant to the answer of the Minister of State, Official Report, 17 December, c. 291, about the re-imbursement of Mrs Badshe Begum for the cost of a prescription, what factors were taken into account in making the original decision that she was not entitled to a National Health Service prescription;
(2) pursuant to the answer of the Minister of State, Official Report, 17 December 1982, column 291, whether Mrs Badshe Begum was accepted as a National Health Service patient by the Penny Meadow clinic, Ashton-under-Lyne, when she originally asked for treatment.
Mrs Badshe Begum was not initially treated as a National Health Service patient. The doctors treated her as a private patient but in fact made no charge for their services. As a private patient she could not be issued with a National Health Service prescription.