§ Mr. Carter-Jonesasked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will give the average cost separately for acute, chronic and geriatric beds in Northern Ireland; if he will give the highest and lowest cost in each category of bed; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. NeedhamThe information requested is as follows:
Acute £ Chronic £ Geriatric £ Average cost (per in-patient week) 616.56 262.79 261.62 Highest 1,019.90 575.11 391.05 Lowest Cost 173.20 158.96 183.09 Note:
The present accounting system attributes costs to individual hospitals rather than to types of beds and for the purpose of the answer the definitions used are those derived from the Annual Analyses of running costs, Related Income and Statistics of Hospitals compiled by the Department ie;
Acute
Teaching hospitals with acute beds; acute, mainly acute, partly acute, and sub-acute hospitals.
Chronic
Long stay, mainly long stay, mental handicap, and tuberculosis and chest disease hospitals.
Geriatric
Hospitals within the Long Stay and Teaching Hospital categories which provide wholly or mainly geriatric accommodation.