§ Dr. Roger Thomasasked the Secretary of State for Social Services, in his consideration of the advantages of reverting to smaller hospitals, if he will take note of the views expressed by the chairman of the Central Committee for Hospital Medical Services and the president of the Royal College of Surgeons that such a move could be counter-productive, because of possible dangers through inadequacy of emergency staff, unsuitability for training, and experience that smaller hospitals have a lower patient turnover; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Patrick JenkinI shall certainly take account of these views and of all other views expressed before reaching final decisions about changes in hospital services. A consultation paper, "The Future Pattern of Hospital Provision in England" was issued from my Department in May this year. Two conferences have recently been held, one in Birmingham and one in London, at which a wide range of interests were able to express their initial reactions to the proposals.
The paper has been given a very wide circulation and written comments have been invited by early October. Until I have had a chance to consider all comments received it would be inappropriate to make a statement, but I intend to do so in due course.