§ 30. Mr. Emeryasked the Minister of Health whether he sets down minimum standards for operating theatres which have to be complied with by hospitals under the National Health Service.
§ Mr. PowellWhen designing theatres, hospital boards are expected to follow the recommendations in my Department's Building Bulletin No. 1. They have also received guidance on a number of aspects of the use of existing theatres.
§ Mr. EmeryWhile thanking my right hon. Friend for that reply, may I ask him whether he realises that some of 970 the older theatres in this country are operating in very strange conditions? Does he realise that in the theatre at the Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading the sterilising of instruments and anaesthetising all has to be done in the same very small theatre? This is in fact the cornea grafting centre for the whole of Wessex. Does my right hon. Friend not consider that these conditions are about fifty years out of date?
§ Mr. PowellYes, that is the reason why the ophthalmic theatre suite is included in the first phase of the redevelopment of that hospital.