§ Sir F. SYKESasked the Secretary of State for Air if he will state in respect of hospitals under his administration in this country and elsewhere, respectively, the estimated capital values of lands and of buildings occupied; the annual building maintenance cost; the annual cost of medical stores; the annual cost of provisioning; the annual cost of and the numbers of staff employed on medical services; the annual cost and the numbers of staff employed on services other than medical and building maintenance; the annual cost of any additional staff or services; the maximum patient accommodation; and the maximum and the average number of patients in residence on any one day in the last 12 months?
§ Sir S. HOAREThe following statement gives the information requested by my hon. and gallant Friend:
Home. Abroad. £ £ (1) Capital cost of lands and buildings 102,455 700,000 (2) Annual building maintenance cost 3,000 10,000 (3) Annual cost of medical stores 7,000 9,000 (4) Annual cost of provisions 7,770 24,000 (5) Annual cost of staff employed on medical services 49,000 98,000 Numbers of such staff 239 337 (6) Annual cost of staff employed on other than medical and building maintenance 2,000 14,000 (7) Numbers of such staff 17 399 (8) Annual cost of any additional staff or services 6,000 25,000 (9) Maximum patient accommodation 447 900 (10) Maximum number of patients in residence on any one day in last 12 months 437 544 (11) Average number of patients in residence during last 12 months 199 329 As regards (1) above, £650,000 of the Figure in the second column represents the 1999W capital cost of hospitals in Iraq which were largely built under Army administration before the reduction of the garrison to its present size. A re-assessment of the present value has not been undertaken.
As regards (8) above, the figures of £6,000 and £25,000 represent cost of water, heating, lighting and conservancy services.
As regards (9), the 900 beds abroad do not include a, possible expansion of 239 beds at Basrah Hospitals (British and Indian). The hospitals at Hinaidi are also capable of a very large expansion within the existing buildings.
As regards (9), (10), and (11), the hospitals in Iraq cater for the whole of the garrisons, i.e., British and Indian Army troops, in addition to R.A.F. personnel; the same is the case in Palestine, where the hospitals also provide for the British gendarmerie.
Further it should be borne in mind that the garrisons in Iraq and Palestine have, been largely reduced in the past few years and are still in process of reduction.