§ Sir E. Graham-Littleasked the Minister of Health whether he is aware that there is no general hospital nearer to Slough than Windsor, where the accommodation is overtaxed; and whether, in view of the special circumstances, he will authorise the reception of civilian cases by the Emergency Medical Service hospitals in Slough, where there is unused accommodation which the medical profession in Slough urgently needs?
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§ Mr. E. BrownI am aware that there has been considerable pressure on the beds at the general hospital at Windsor, and I arranged facilities some time ago for reducing the waiting list by transfer of cases to emergency hospitals within reach of the area. It rests with the hospital to take full advantage of those arrangements. The emergency hospital at Slough is in the county council's institution. While it is essential to keep a certain number of beds available there for air-raid casualties and other emergency cases, it has always been made clear that the council can and should admit in the normal way cases needing urgent hospital treatment who cannot get it elsewhere.