Shrewsbury Hospitals (Hansard, 28 July 2000)

§ Mr. Paul Marsden
To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many representations he has received against moving hospital services from Copthorne South to Copthorne North in Shrewsbury; and if he will make a statement [131703]

§ Yvette Cooper
To date, the Secretary of State for Health has received no representations against moving hospital services from Copthorne South to Copthorne North in Shrewsbury.

§ Mr. Paul Marsden
To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he expects the Copthorne South hospital buildings in Shrewsbury to be demolished; and if he will make a statement. [131705]

§ Yvette Cooper
The demolition of buildings on Royal Shrewsbury Hospital (RSH) South will occur after the site is subsequently sold, and will be undertaken by the new owners. The timing of this will depend on when a suitable scheme is agreed for moving the services from RSH South currently being developed as part of the business case.

§ Mr. Paul Marsden
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what health and safety category has been given to Copthorne South hospital buildings; and if he will make a statement. [131701]

§ Yvette Cooper
The trust has assessed the buildings on Royal Shrewsbury Hospital (RSH) Copthorne South as being predominantly either Health and Safety Category C or Category DX.
In order to mitigate the risks which arise from this, the trust is expected to have in place a formal Risk Management Plan which enables a safe environment to be maintained for patients, staff and visitors until the accommodation can be reprovided elsewhere. Such a plan may involve, for example, additional training for staff, the production of safe working procedures for all staff and the employment of additional staff where required for safety. The trust is of course required under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations to carry out general risk assessments and the development of the Risk Management Plan should be informed by these.
The trust in conjunction with its local colleagues is submitting a business case to the NHS Executive Regional Office for the movement of services from RSH Copthorne South by the end of this financial year.