HC Deb 01 May 1952 vol 499 cc121-2W
Mr. Turner

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if he will take steps to prevent the closing of the British Hertford Hospital in Paris.

Mr. Nutting

No decision has yet been taken by the management committee to close the hospital. Offers of support have been received from the French Ministry of Health and a sub-committee has been appointed to examine proposals for the general reorganisation of the hospital. Owing to the steep rise in the cost of living in France, the endowments which before the war met about half the annual operating costs of the Hertford British Hospital, now barely cover expenses for one month and though every effort has been made to meet the deficiency by local subscriptions and other means, the hospital committee has recently decided that the institution cannot be continued as it has been in the past. I am informed that in most cases British residents in France are eligible for medical assistance from the French authorities.