HC Deb 01 July 1963 vol 680 cc5-6
17. Mr. Peter Emery

asked the Minister of Health what extra measures he is taking to speed up the building of the new Royal Berkshire Hospital.

Mr. Powell

Building should start early next year; progress is now satisfactory.

Mr. Emery

Is my right hon. Friend satisfied with the position when the first and second general surgical operating theatres had to close in April because of serious defects in the structure and all the operations had to be carried out in the E.N.T. and gynaecological theatres? Can he not do something to advance the date from 1964 to this year, and will he do what he can to ensure that Phase 4 of the overall plan is approved in the immediate future?

Mr. Powell

I think we have the earliest practical dates at the moment. I have been aware of the difficulties my hon. Friend mentions and of the great pressure under which this hospital has been working, and I have been personally concerned with the planning at several stages.

Mr. Emery

I am very grateful to my right hon. Friend for his assistance, but will not he do a little more to see that these dates are brought forward? The staff are doing a superlative job under these conditions, but does my right hon. Friend realise that, though the hospital is still able to get recruits, unless something is done before the early stage of 1964 the position will become critical?

Mr. Powell

I will do everything I can to accelerate the successive stages of these plans, though there is a limit to the extent to which one can reduce the period of time taken in the planning and building of a hospital.