§ 2.54 p.m.
§ Baroness Masham of IltonMy Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question which stands in my name on the Order Paper.
§ The Question was as follows:
§ To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the Secretary of State will refuse permission for the closure of the Ida Hospital for geriatrics and patients requiring rehabilitation at Cookridge, Leeds.
§ Lord TrefgarneMy Lords, as the Leeds Western Health Authority has taken no closure decision in relation to the Ida Hospital, the question is hypothetical. In any event, before an opposed hospital closure in the Yorkshire region can be referred to Ministers, the issue must first be considered by the regional health authority, of which the noble Baroness is a distinguished member.
§ Baroness Masham of IltonMy Lords, while thanking the Minister for that reply, may I wish him a very happy Christmas? Is he aware that the Ida Hospital was designated by his own department as a centre of excellence for rehabilitation, and that many of the excellent and most dedicated staff working there are very worried because there is a rumour that the hospital will close and that the patients will be moved to another hospital?
§ Lord TrefgarneYes, my Lords, I agree that, as the noble Baroness has said, the hospital was designated as a demonstration centre in medical rehabilitation. I would certainly also agree that the service provided is an important one for the district concerned. But that does not necessarily mean that these important functions ought to go on for ever in the same building.
§ Lord Davies of LeekMy Lords, whether or not permission has been sought at the present time, the nub of the question is this: Will the Minister of State refuse permission? Before he considers it, will he take into account the viability, the excellent work in this hospital—which is not in debt—the assiduousness of the staff and its importance to the old, the lonely and the sick in this area, who look on this place as a home because many of them have nowhere else to go?
§ Lord TrefgarneMy Lords, if this matter comes before Ministers, these points will certainly be taken into account as, doubtless, they will be by the regional health authority, upon which, as I say, the noble Baroness sits, if the matter should ever come before it.
§ Lords AmulreeMy Lords, does not the Minister think that the time has come when we want to encourage hospitals or hostels for these aged and infirm people who do not need to be in an acute general hospital but who do need to be taken care of in the way that has been spoken about now?
§ Lord TrefgarneYes, my Lords, geriatric provision generally is a matter of considerable importance. I should say that that is not the specific purpose of this hospital, which is dealing in the main with those who are, hopefully, to return to a normal life sooner or later but who have suffered some particularly grievous illness in the meantime.
§ Baroness Masham of IltonMy Lords, may I enlighten the Minister by asking him whether he is aware that the patients at that hospital are mainly geriatric patients, some of whom will not be returning home? Is he further aware that, if the patients are moved, then, to get other rehabilitation facilities as good as those in that hospital, a great deal of expense may be involved. Furthermore, is he aware that the buildings of the Ida Hospital are in excellent condition and are flat, that it is only a small hospital of 120 beds and that it is the ideal hospital for that kind of patient? Is he also aware that the hospital has kept within its budget, and has not been subject to industrial dispute? Should not that sort of hospital be patted on the back rather than closed?
§ Lord TrefgarneMy Lords, these are all matters which will certainly be considered by the district and the region in due course. May I correct one point which the noble Baroness made? The hospital, as she says, has just over 100 beds but only about 20 of them, in fact, are used for the rehabilitation role.