§ Mr. Chris SmithTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the military hospitals which have closed in the last 12 months; and what proportion of their work was carried out for the NHS. [3054]
§ Mr. SoamesThis is a matter for the Defence Secondary Care Agency and I have asked the chief executive to write to the hon. Member.
Letter from Ron Smith to Mr. Chris Smith, dated 18 November 1996:
I am replying to your Question to the Secretary of State for Defence on the closure of service hospitals as this matter falls within my area of responsibility as Chief Executive of the Defence Secondary Care Agency (DSCA).The DSCA was launched on 30 April this year. Since November 1995, the following three hospitals have closed:The Princess Mary's Hospital, Halton;The Princess Alexandra's, Royal Air Force Hospital, Wroughton;The Cambridge Military Hospital, Aldershot.The decision to close these hospitals arose from a combination of Options for Change and Front Line First recommendations. No Service hospitals have closed since the launch of this Agency.Although the responsibility for the treatment of civilian patients rests with the Department of Health, NHS patients have been, and continue to be treated at Service hospitals. This enables our medical personnel to undertake the varied mixture of cases which they require for training and professional development for front lines roles. The proportion of NHS patients seen at the closed hospitals varied from year to year and depended on the location of the hospital. However, in general NHS patients accounted for between 50% and 70% of the hospitals' total caseload.