§ Mr. BoatengTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if he has any plans to enable a hospital which elects to opt out of National Health Service management under the recent proposals to charge patients for special or any other services needed for effective treatment.
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§ Mr. Kenneth ClarkeI assume that the hon. Member is referring to self-governing hospitals. As they will remain within the NHS, they will continue to provide all necessary treatment to NHS patients without charge at point of delivery.
§ Mrs. DunwoodyTo ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) whether he will insist on the provision of emergency services in his core services in opted-out hospitals;
(2) why he has excluded gynaecology, maternity and preventive medicines for women from his core services for the opted-out hospitals.
§ Mr. Kenneth ClarkeI assume that the hon. Member is referring to self-governing NHS hospitals. I have not excluded gynaecology, maternity and preventative medicines from being regarded as core services to be provided by such hospitals. Examples of core services are identified in broad terms in the White Paper "Working for Patients" but I have not prescribed and I have no intention of prescribing a definitive list. The first and second of the working papers published on 20 February make it clear that it will be for each district to consider in the light of local circumstances what its core services should be. The district will then decide whether these services can best be provided by a self-governing hospital, or by other NHS hospitals and make arrangements accordingly. fuller details are given in the working papers.