§ 29. Mr. Remnantasked the Minister of Health the estimated cost of the proposed new maternity wing at Wokingham Hospital; and what he estimates would be the cost of erecting and equipping in Bracknell a building to provide similar services.
§ The Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Health (Miss Patricia Hornsby-Smith)About £80,000, excluding the cost of furniture and equipment. No precise estimate is available of the cost of building at Bracknell, but my right hon. Friend is satisfied that it would be higher.
§ Mr. RemnantCan my hon. Friend give some assurance that this is not for the convenience of the regional hospital 671 board at the expense of the convenience of people in the new town? To put a maternity wing at one side of the new town and an out patients' wing at the other end, about three miles away, does not seem to me to be convenient to the people of the new town.
§ Miss Hornsby-SmithThis new unit will be of thirty-two beds which will be shared roughly equally between the two areas. I am sure the hon. Gentleman will appreciate that to provide two 16-bed units, with all the equipment and overheads, would be uneconomic and extremely costly. In a case of this kind, where only a 32-bed unit is required, the practical arrangement is to provide one unit for both areas.