Hospital Fire (Port Stanley) (Hansard, 11 April 1984)

§ Mr. Michael Stern (Bristol, North-West)
(by private notice) asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement about the fire at King Edward memorial hospital, Port Stanley.

§ The Minister for Overseas Development (Mr. Timothy Raison)
As my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister told the House yesterday, the Government were shocked and greatly saddened to learn of the tragic fire at the King Edward memorial hospital early yesterday morning. My right hon. Friend has sent a message to the Falkland Islands Government expressing our deepest sympathy at the loss of life and injury sustained in the fire. My right hon. and learned Friend has also sent a message of sympathy to the Civil Commissioner, in which my right hon. and noble Friend the Baroness Young and I have joined.
The fire started in part of the old wing of the hospital, which was a wooden structure built in 1914. The cause has not yet been established. We are providing experts to assist in the inquiry announced by the Civil Commissioner which will report to the Falkland Islands Government on the causes and other aspects of the disaster. A member of Her Majesty's inspectorate of fire services will fly to the islands next week. The timing of the arrival of the civilian firefighting equipment from the town and military equipment from the airport will also be fully investigated.
The question of hospital services on the islands has been the subject of consideration on a number of occasions since late 1982. This has included study of reports which referred to fire hazards and precautions in the hospital buildings. The extent to which the recommendations in these reports were carried out will of course be a priority issue for the inquiry.
Looking ahead, we stand ready to help the Falkland Islands Government in the urgent task of building a new hospital as soon as possible. A hospital architect will travel to the Falkland Islands within a few days. We shall provide the Falkland Islands Government with financial and other assistance in the construction of a new hospital.
In the meantime, the temporary hospital set up in Port Stanley town hall includes the resources of an Army field surgical unit. The Ministry of Defence is also providing, via the air bridge, blood transfusion equipment and other reinforcement for the emergency stores that are already in place on the islands.

§ Mr. Stern
Would my right hon. Friend agree that the reported conduct of my late constituent, Miss Barbara Chick, in returning into the hospital during the fire in an attempt to save her patients, was in the finest traditions of the nursing service and is deserving of all the praise that this House can give? Would the Minister comment further on the report in today's issue of The Times that Government agencies had more than one year's warning of the appalling fire risk represented by this building and that as of today they are still considering those reports?

§ Mr. Raison
The House will, I know, entirely agree, as I do, with what my hon. Friend has said about the conduct of Miss Chick, from all that we have heard. May I add that Sir Rex Hunt, the Civil Commissioner, has 384 spoken on the telephone to the parents of Miss Chick and has made it clear that he and we will give them any help that they desire over the funeral.
On the question of the warning of the fire hazard in the hospital, I have made it clear already that this has been under discussion for some time. We must now await the results of the inquiry to establish the exact facts.

§ Mr. Tam Dalyell (Linlithgow)
It has not only been under discussion. Could the Minister make contact with George Sturch Edwards and William Burridge, whose addresses I have given to the Foreign Secretary's private office, who are senior electricians and who, along with John Brodrick, pleaded with the authorities on several occasions to take this seriously, especially as they told the authorities that the Army was overloading the electrical wiring system of that hospital by installing extra equipment? Was not this tragedy foreseeable and foreseen, predictable and predicted, and is it not extremely sad that we are spending until 1987, in expenditure already made or committed, £6,000 million on the Falkland Islands, yet there is not enough money to avoid skimping on hospital safety?

§ Mr. Raison
Clearly, it would be wrong of me to try to prejudge the outcome of the inquiry, but it would certainly seem important that the evidence of the two gentlemen to whom the hon. Gentleman has referred should be made available to the inquiry.

§ Mr. Cranley Onslow (Woking)
I am sure that the whole House will wish to join my right hon. Friend in the sympathy which he has expressed to the people of Port Stanley and in the tribute which has been paid to the gallantry of those involved in fighting the fire. Since the really important thing is that the community in Port Stanley should have a new hospital as soon as possible, and since one of the problems may be the shortage of building materials, can my right hon. Friend say whether he feels that this might be an occasion on which building materials should be acquired on the South American mainland instead of having to be shipped all the way from here?

§ Mr. Raison
I entirely agree, of course, about the great importance of getting on with this. As I have said already, an architect will be visiting the place within a matter of days. As to the question about building materials, I am afraid that I cannot answer that off the cuff.

§ Mr. Russell Johnston (Inverness, Nairn and Lochaber)
Would the Minister convey the sympathy of the Liberal and Social Democratic parties to all those so sadly bereaved? Could the Minister shed any light at all on why it took two hours for the RAF firefighting team to get from the airport to Port Stanley? My recollection is that it should not have taken half that time.

§ Mr. Raison
The information I have is that it did not take two hours for the RAF firefighting team to arrive, but I really think that that is another matter on which we should leave it to the inquiry to establish the facts.

§ Mr. Robert Key (Salisbury)
Does my right hon. Friend agree that, although the disaster in Port Stanley had been foreseen, the Government had done all that they could and had indeed projected the building of a new hospital? As I raised this with the Prime Minister yesterday and the source of my information was the doctor running the hospital, who came to see me in the House on 29 June 385 last year and expressed to me and to other hon. Members her concern about the safety of the hospital, would it not have been reasonable for us to raise the matter in the House? I was told last June, however, that I would be out of order in raising a question about safety standards in the hospital, because it was the responsibility of the Falkland Islands Government. I was thus unable to pursue the matter then. Having said that, however, may I thank the Government for their very prompt response and wish them well in their inquiry, the outcome of which people will await with great interest?

§ Mr. Raison
Again, I do not think that it is for me to anticipate the outcome of the inquiry. I simply say that the Government will do all in their power to ensure that the inquiry can get at the facts. As for my hon. Friend's parliamentary question being refused by the Table Office, that is not really a question on which I can comment.

§ Mr. Dennis Skinner (Bolsover)
In view of the series of mistakes, some of which have been amplified in the Chamber today, will the Minister confirm that the hospital will be replaced and that there are proper safeguards? Will he ensure that the hospital is built by a British firm? Not so long ago, prefabricated houses were sent there for the troops, built by a Swedish firm masquerading under a British banner. Nobody batted for Britain then——

§ Mr. Speaker
Order.

§ Mr. Skinner
—and they finished up costing twice as much.

§ Mr. Speaker
Order. I know that the hon. Gentleman does not like it, but he must relate his question to the hospital. It is nothing to do with anything else.

§ Mr. Skinner
With respect, Mr. Speaker, I am asking whether we may be assured that when the hospital is replaced somebody will be batting for Britain. May we have an assurance that the new hospital will be built by British people with a structure ensuring viability? I am not suggesting that it should necessarily be made of cement, but who knows? Will the Minister also make it clear that there will be no need for Mark Thatcher and his mother to go out there to clinch the deal?

§ Mr. Raison
I shall be very surprised if the hospital is not replaced by a British firm.

§ Sir Hector Monro (Dumfries)
Is my right hon. Friend aware that I and other hon. Members spent some hours at the hospital more than 18 months ago and were 386 immediately impressed by the exceptional nursing care provided by the civilian and military staff and, without the value of hindsight, doubted whether such a tragedy was likely to occur in the near future? Will he make every effort to ensure that the new hospital is built as quickly as possible?

§ Mr. Raison
I, too, visited the hospital a little over a year ago and was impressed by the care provided by both military and civilian staff. I shall, of course, do all that I can to ensure that the new hospital is built as quickly as possible.

§ Mr. Donald Anderson (Swansea, East)
May we first express our heartfelt sympathy for the relatives of those killed in an incident that is the more devastating because of the smallness of the community? Will the Minister reflect on the tragic irony pointed out by my hon. Friend the Member for Linlithgow (Mr. Dalyell), that, although billions of pounds have been poured into the islands to meet the alleged defence needs of the islanders, there is not enough money to look after the welfare needs of those same people?
Does the Minister agree that there is clearly a case to answer in terms of delay, as the fire hazard at the hospital was pointed out more than a year ago? Will he confirm that the Department examined the position last year but that an architect was not to be sent out until after Easter and a new hospital was to be built at an indefinite date in the future? Does he agree that that demands a very clear answer indeed?
If the Minister says that we must wait for the inquiry, will he assure the House that when the report is made it will be put befroe the House in a ministerial statement?
Will the Minister consider the point made by his hon. Friend the Member for Woking (Mr. Onslow) that in a welfare matter of this kind there may be an opportunity for some form of symbolic co-operation with the mainland? Will he also consider whether there are any other public buildings on the islands which, because they are built of wood, may constitute a similar fire hazard?

§ Mr. Raison
Co-operation with the mainland raises a quite different kind of question. Our great intention is to get on with the job of replacing the hospital.
As to the inquiry, I understand that the report will be made in the first instance to the Falkland Islands Government, but we shall also receive it. We intend that it shall be published to the House in full, and that it will be treated in a proper way in the House.