§ 14. Mr. Willisasked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he is aware of the need for increased capital expenditure to meet the needs of the mental health services in South-East Scotland; and whether he will authorise the regional hospital board to undertake the works necessary to ensure an adequate service.
§ Mr. J. StuartI am aware that this is one of the directions in which the hospital service in Scotland requires to be improved or expanded, and that the Board have several projects in view. Meanwhile, a new building is on the point of completion in Fife, to provide 100 additional mental hospital beds. The relative importance of competing claims for investment can best be assessed by Regional Hospital Boards themselves, in the light of medical opinion and their intimate knowledge of local needs and conditions.