§ Mrs. Renée Shortasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is the final estimated cost of building and commissioning the new hospital at Telford.
§ Mr. Kenneth ClarkeThe present estimated capital cost of this scheme prior to tender is £25.5 million. This figure includes the costs of commissioning the hospital apart from RHA and DHA staff costs which are not readily identifiable.
§ Mrs. Renée Shortasked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) what is the estimated annual running cost of the new hospital at Telford; and when he expects this money to be made available;
(2) what savings will be made by the closure of existing hospitals that the new Telford hospital is intended to replace;
(3) how many redundancies, and in which categories, will be necessary when the new hospital at Telford is opened and the local hospitals closed;
(4) what are the proposed gains and losses in terms of hospital beds and outpatient clinics, specialty by specialty, that will occur with the opening of the new hospital at Telford.
§ Mr. Kenneth ClarkePhase 1 of the proposed new district general hospital at Telford will provide a full outpatient department and 358 beds as follows:
Specialty Number of beds General medicine 82 Paediatric medicine 33 General surgery 131 Orthopaedics 52 Other acute specialities 12 Geriatrics 48 Total 358 The West Midlands regional health authority and Shropshire health authority are establishing the annual running cost of the new hospital and are discussing ways of securing the necessary funds. The results of their discussions will be put to me when the regional health authority seeks my approval to place contracts for the new hospital on the basis of its conclusions. Until that process is complete, it is not possible to state the extent of any associated closures, savings or staffing implications.
Any proposed closures would, of course, be subject to full consultations locally.
§ Mrs. Renée Shortasked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many additional medical and nursing staff will be needed to run the new hospital at Telford.
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§ Mr. Kenneth ClarkePhase I of the proposed new district general hospital at Telford will employ about 1,500 people. The hon. Member should contact the Shropshire health authority about any details which interest her.
§ Mrs. Renée Shortasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what consideration is being given in the development of the new hospital at Telford to arrangements for transporting patients from areas now served by the hospitals proposed to be closed.
§ Mr. Kenneth ClarkeThe West Midlands regional health authority and Shropshire health authority are still considering what closures may be necessary to fund the new hospital at Telford. Any proposed closures would be subject to full consultations locally and the consultation documents would have to set out any arrangements proposed for transporting patients to other hospitals.