§ Mr. ButlerTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Services what information he has regarding the proportion of hospital beds in New York city occupied by AIDS patients; and if he will make a statement regarding the implications for hospital bed use policy in the United Kingdom.
§ Mr. NewtonThe Department is aware of reported studies in the American scientific press of the percentage of beds used in the treatment of AIDS in New York city. However because of the considerable difference between the numbers with AIDS or infected with HIV in the United Kingdom and the USA, and because of the wide differences in systems for delivering health care in the two countries, it is difficult to make direct comparisions between the current situation in New York and the future situation in the United Kingdom. The Department will continue to monitor developments in this new disease carefully, and to take any appropriate action which is indicated.