§ Chris GraylingTo ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the answer of 18 January,Official Report, column 285W, on primary care services, what impact he expects this policy to have on the number of acute hospitals in England and Wales. [91591]
§ Mr. HuttonOur intention is to provide more consultations and procedures outside hospitals and closer to where patients live. It is for local health communities to consider how their development of primary care services will affect demand for secondary care but the development of new or expanded services in primary care can be funded from the increased resources for primary care trusts which was announced in December 2002.
On 14 February, we published new guidance on configuring hospital services "Keeping the NHS local: a new direction of travel." It showed how smaller hospitals in particular have the potential to offer a wider range of services for local people than has previously been thought possible.