§ 56. Sir D. Rentonasked the Minister of Health whether he is aware that present hospital facilities in Huntingdon and district are inadequate for the population of about 80,000 people for whom provision is required; and what steps are proposed to provide adequate facilities for the rapidly expanding population there.
§ Mr. K. RobinsonAs I explained in a recent letter to the right hon. and learned Gentleman, the regional hospital board plan to build a new hospital in Huntingdon. Meanwhile, some improvements will be made to existing hospitals. Services will also be strengthened when the new hospital at Peterborough opens next year and when further accommodation becomes available in the new hospital in Cambridge.
§ Sir D. RentonYes. But is the right hon. Gentleman aware that the population development of Huntingdon has proceeded at a great pace whereas the number of hospital beds remains approximately the same, and would he not give some indication of when we shall get a new hospital?
§ Mr. RobinsonThe likely increase in the population was certainly one of the main factors taken into account in planning all services for the area, and, no doubt, contributed to the decision of the regional board to build a new hospital in Huntingdon which it had not previously intended to do. It will not be possible on present planning to include the new hospital in the board's programme till after 1975–76. We should like to accelerate the hospital building programme, but this must depend on the general economic situation.