§ Sir E. Makinsasked the Minister of Health whether he will state the amounts paid by his Department weekly to hospitals in respect of wards assigned to airraid casualties; whether he is satisfied that the system which entails a heavy outlay on the State is working satisfactorily; and whether this outlay can be reduced since it is far more than the hospitals would receive from civil patients were they able to be accommodated?
§ Mr. ElliotPayments in respect of beds reserved for air-raid casualties are at present being made only to voluntary hospitals. They are made fortnightly, and the total payments so far made for the first fortnight have amounted to approximately £170,000. This figure will be subject to considerable adjustment in the light of additional information being received from the hospitals following the payments.
In reply to the second part of the question, I am satisfied that this system is enabling us to have many beds ready and staffed for casualties which would not otherwise be available. I do not consider the provision being made againsts air-raid casualties unreasonable. I am, however, reviewing the list of hospitals where beds are reserved for casualties in order to ensure that beds are not being kept empty unnecessarily.
In reply to the third part of the question, the payments being made to the hospitals are not related to the payments normally made by civil patients since these do not as a rule meet the whole cost of treatment. Voluntary hospitals are largely dependent on contributions and other charitable sources for the treatment of civil patients, but the Government have undertaken that the cost of treating 538W casualties shall be borne by the Exchequer
The Department are investigating the claims for payment being submitted by hospitals in order to ensure that they properly correspond with the actual additional expenditure in which the hospitals are involved by reason of the Emergency Hospital Scheme.