§ Mr. George Cunninghamasked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) 473W why there is a difference of timing between the proposed dates for reopening the closed wards of St. Mark's Hospital and the other closed wards in the same district;
(2) what additional costs per month will result from the opening of Fournier Ward at St. Mark's Hospital;
(3) what is his estimate of the increased cost under the heading of administration and clerical in his previous replies which will fall on St. Mark's Hospital when Fournier Ward is reopened;
(4) what is the ratio between his figure for the savings accruing from Fournier Ward at St. Mark's Hospital, being closed in a given month and the costs of its being open in the same month.
§ Mr. MoyleThe timing of ward reopening in the City and Hackney District is a matter for district decision in the light of its priorities. An estimate of the cost associated with reopening Fournier Ward is £6,000 per month. A more accurate figure would require disproportionate expenditure of time and effort. The estimated figure of £6,000 includes the cost of one part-time member of both catering and medical records staffs and one member of the clerical staff at St. Mark's. Recruitment of all or some of these and the gradings required are now under consideration, and an exact ratio of reopening costs to previously estimated closure savings cannot, therefore, be calculated.