§ Mr. John HughesTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Services if following the decision to close the Coventry Whitley hospital, he will publish in theOfficial Report the letter from the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, the hon. Member for Derbyshire, South (Mrs. Currie) of 16 March 1988, to the Coventry district health authority about its duty to have regard to the particular circumstances of each elderly individual whose care provision will be transferred from the hospital consultants to the local housing association.
§ Mrs. CurrieThe following is the text of the letter to the chairman of Coventry health authority.
As you know we have been considering your proposals for the future pattern of services in Coventry and in particular the plans for the Whitley Hospital. We have weighed the arguments very carefully and have concluded that the proposals should proceed. We are satisfied that the proposals are in the best interests of patients and will allow more effective and efficient use to be made of health care resources in Coventry. In developing your plans for collaboration with the local housing association for the care of those elderly people not requiring consultant oversight in hospital, you will need to take into account the particular circumstances of each individual likely to be concerned.In agreeing to these proposals I hope you will bear in mind our concern that patients should not be compelled to transfer from NHS beds to a fee-charging home unless they have indicated their willingness to do so with a clear understanding on their part of the arrangements by which such charges would be met. You will continue to provide for patients in NHS beds under consultant care, who will require continuing nursing care and who do not wish to transfer to the new facility on the Whitley Hospital site.