§ Mrs. Iris RobinsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many acute hospital beds he estimates there will be in Northern Ireland if the proposals in the recent ministerial announcement on developing better services are implemented. [120980]
§ Angela SmithThe implementation of the programme to modernise Northern Ireland's hospital services will require a period of some years; during that time, the number of acute hospital beds required will be kept under constant review. It is not possible at this point to estimate how many may be required in the future, since this is dependent on a wide range of factors, including changes in clinical practice and demand for services.