§ 3 p.m.
§ Lord MellishMy Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question standing in my name on the Order Paper.
§ The Question was as follows:
§ To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will make a Statement on the future of St. Olave's Hospital, Rotherhithe.
§ Lord HeskethMy Lords, Lewisham and North Southwark Health Authority is committed to the continued use of the former St. Olave's Hospital site for NHS and general community purposes, and a 17-place nursing home, called St. Olave's Home, will open in April.
§ Lord MellishMy Lords, I am obliged to the Minister for that reply. However, it is very unsatisfactory. Is he aware that we are speaking of a hospital which was taken away from the old infirmary status, which now has 220 beds available, which was upgraded and which has a first-class operating theatre and first-class nursing and catering facilities? At the moment all that lies absolutely derelict. Now we are told a lot of stuff and nonsense about a few places for some nurses in Lewisham. What is it all about and when will the hospital be properly used?
§ Lord HeskethMy Lords, there is a good, twofold reason why acute services were transferred from the old St. Olave's site to Guy's Hospital in the early 1980s. First, the tremendous technical advances in medicine in recent years have meant that acute beds need the support of complex back-up services which are available only in major district general hospitals such as Guy's or Lewisham. However, what smaller hospitals can provide is community care. Provision for elderly people, the mentally ill and the mentally handicapped has been neglected for too long generally, and especially so in London.
§ Lord MellishMy Lords. can we take it from that reply that there is the prospect that the bed availability, which is over 200, will be made use of by the community? That is all I wish to know. At the moment, the hospital is lying derelict and it stands out like a sore thumb in the heart of London. It is a disgrace to the NHS and has been so for years.
§ Lord HeskethMy Lords, as the noble Lord will know, we have the plans which I outlined to him. In answer to his supplementary question concerning acute beds, the difficulty is as I have tried to explain. I should add that in December Ministers agreed to a £35 million scheme at Guy's Hospital to provide a further 275 beds and 90 day places. That is in relation to the example which I gave earlier concerning the need for back-up for acute beds.
§ Lord AucklandMy Lords, is my noble friend aware that the Docklands scheme means that the population of Rotherhithe and the surrounding districts will increase substantially? Will he ask his right honourable friend to bear that in mind, since Guy's Hospital is some miles away from Rotherhithe?
§ Lord HeskethMy Lords, I accept the point which my noble friend has made and I shall bring that matter to the attention of the Secretary of State.
§ Lord KilmarnockMy Lords, may we take it from the answer given to one of the supplementary questions of the noble Lord, Lord Mellish, that the Government have revised their view of the utility of small GP and community hospitals and will now reverse their policy on the closure of such facilities?
§ Lord HeskethMy Lords, I shall have to write to the noble Lord on that point.
Lord MorrisMy Lords, surely the noble Lord, Lord Mellish, wishes to know what Her Majesty's Government propose to do with the site of St. Olave's Hospital in Rotherhithe.
§ Lord HeskethMy Lords, the proposal, as it stands at the moment, is three-fold. First, it will provide a 12-place residential domus for elderly, mentally ill but physically active people, plus a few places for local people. Secondly, it will provide a 20-place GP unit. Thirdly, there will be the redevelopment of the psychiatric day hospital and physiotherapy department.