§ 43. Lieut.-Colonel Cordeauxasked the Minister of Health what percentage of the new accommodation for mentally handicapped children at Balderton Hospital is now in use.
§ Mr. BraineAbout 30 per cent. of the accommodation opened in mid-October.
§ Lieut.-Colonel CordeauxWill the Minister say whether the inability to bring more of this accommodation into use is due to shortage of nursing staff or of domestic staff, or any other reason? Will he also say whether he will get every help he possibly can to ensure that more of this accommodation is brought into use at the earliest possible moment, bearing in mind the fact that we, at Nottingham at any rate, rely almost entirely on this new accommodation in order to supply the new beds of which we are so urgently in need?
§ Mr. BraineWe are, of course, dealing with children, and one can only bring new accommodation like this gradually into effect. Patients will be admitted gradually as staffs are built up to enable the children to settle down more easily in their new environment.