§ 12. Lieut.-Colonel Cordeauxasked the Minister of Health how many accidents in the home and in places of employment, respectively, in the form of burns and scalds were notified to the health authorities in Nottingham during the past year from any convenient date.
§ Mr. BraineNo such notifications are made, but about half the burns and scalds treated in hospitals in Nottingham last year were due to accidents in the home.
§ Lieut.-Colonel CordeauxWould not my hon. Friend agree that the figures show that the number of such accidents 17 was far greater during the past year in Nottingham than in Derby? If that is so, why is Derby being given preference over Nottingham in the establishment of a burns unit? If my hon. Friend will not alter his decision in this respect, will he at least reconsider the recently expressed intention not to establish a burns unit in Nottingham for another ten years?
§ Mr. BraineHigher priority is being given by the regional board to a burns unit at Darby because of the number of serious accidents in heavy industries there and because of the shortage of acute beds in Derby. Nottingham is better off for acute beds than any other area in the Sheffield Region, except for Sheffield itself, where many acute beds serve a wider area. I will gladly consider any evidence my hon. and gallant Friend can provide on the comparative urgency of the need for a burns unit in Nottingham rather than in Derby.