§ Mrs. Renée Shortasked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) how many accident and emergency departments in 555W London hospitals have closed since 1970; what loss of facilities this represents; and how this has affected the time taken for emergencies to be seen to;
(2) on how many occasions in the current year London hospitals have closed their accident departments due to lack of beds; if he is concerned about the facilities for treating emergency and accident cases in London; and if he will make a statement.
§ Dr. VaughanInformation is not readily available in the form requested. The four Thames regional health authorities are responsible for the provision of accident and emergency hospital facilities in London and I understand that there are 52 accident and emergency departments in the Greater London area. Temporary closures of individual departments may occur due to a variety of causes, but I have no reason to suppose that an adequate service is not maintained.