§ 24. Mr. Marshasked the Minister of Health what instructions or guidance he has given to hospital authorities regarding the provision of emergency electricity supply.
§ Miss PittAn emergency supply in operating theatres is recommended in Building Bulletin No. 1. Advice on emergency arrangements for other parts of hospitals is given as necessary when building schemes are examined. My right hon. Friend is considering whether any advice is necessary in relation to existing hospitals.
§ Mr. MarshWhile these recommendations may be in Bulletin No. 1, is the hon. Lady aware that on 26th March there was a forty-minute power failure in London when it was discovered that the London Hospital, one of the biggest teaching hospitals in the country, had no emergency power supplies at all? Is it not criminally negligent that a large general hospital in London was unable to treat its patients because of a breakdown in the power supply?
§ Miss PittI am not aware of that particular incident, but we are considering this at the moment, and have already taken steps to see what can be done to review the arrangements at hospitals. That, together with the advice given in the budding notes, will, I hope, solve the situation for the future.