§ Mrs. EwingTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many hospitals there were in each region of Scotland in(a) 1979, (b) 1987, (d) 1992 and (e) 1996; and if he will make a statement. [15895]
§ Lord James Douglas-HamiltonThe information is in the table.
438W
NHS hospitals1-number within health board areas as at 31 March 1979 1983 1987 1992 1996 Scotland 344 334 306 283 269 Argyll and Clyde 43 37 30 28 20 Ayrshire and Arran 19 19 15 15 Borders 15 17 16 10 9 Dumfries and Galloway 13 13 13 21 26 Fife 17 18 18 15 12
§ Lord James Douglas-HamiltonIt is not possible to show the information requested by constituency, as individual practices may have surgeries in more than one constituency. The available information is shown in the table. Region has been defined as health board.
The changes in the number of hospitals since 1979 reflect changes in the pattern of service provision. There has been substantial investment in new and redeveloped hospitals over this period, and in some cases a single new large hospital has replaced several smaller and old hospitals. Concentration of services on a single site enables better use to be made of expensive diagnostic and treatment facilities, and offers patients access to a better standard of care and treatment.
439W
NHS hospitals1-number within health board areas as at 31 March 1979 1983 1987 1992 1996 Forth Valley 13 13 13 11 16 Grampian 44 42 44 40 36 Greater Glasgow 45 44 39 35 28 Highland 24 23 21 19 20 Lanarkshire 25 24 23 22 20 Lothian 44 45 35 30 32 Orkney 2 2 2 2 2 Shetland 3 3 2 2 2 Tayside 33 29 27 28 27 Western Isles 4 5 5 5 4 1 Hospitals open for the reception of inpatients and day cases.