§ Mr. Murphyasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he is satisfied with the level of National Health Service care available for geriatric cases within the county of Hertfordshire.
§ Mr. Geoffrey FinsbergThere is an acknowledged shortfall in NHS services available for elderly people in Hertfordshire. The Government have set out their strategies for developing services for elderly people in the handbook of policies and priorities "Care in Action" and, in more detail, in the White Paper "Growing Older". It is the responsibility of Hertfordshire area health authority and, from April 1982, the four Hertfordshire district health authorities to develop services consistent with those strategies. The pace of change locally will be subject to90W surveys described in it, which were conducted among those calling at citizens advice bureaux offices and before the Government's revised proposals were announced, and the views expressed in the report. The new payment arrangements are being well publicised and we shall be monitoring how beneficiaries respond.