§ Lord Molloyasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether the proposal to close Chapel Allerton Hospital, Leeds, is due to any failure of service or efficiency, and if not then how it can be justified.
§ Lord HenleyThere is no question of any failure of service to Chapel Allerton's patients. Its proposed closure forms part of a general reorganisation of Leeds Western Health Authority's hospital services, the aim of which is to reduce the present fragmentation of general hospital services on seven sites, this having inherent inefficiencies in the use of resources.
One benefit will be the freeing up of some £2 million of revenue each year, which will help growing demand on the acute services and fund priority developments such as the development of a more active model of care for the elderly in the district.