Mrs. Hillasked the Minister of Health whether he is now in a position to make a further statement on the Government's hospital building programme.
§ Mr. TurtonYes. It is proposed, subject to the voting by Parliament of the necessary funds, that £20 million shall be spent on capital developments in the hospital service in England and Wales in 1958–59, compared with £13 million this financial year and £18 million proposed for next year.
Hospital boards have already been informed of their individual allocations within this total for the modernisation of mental hospitals, the replacement of obsolete plant and ordinary capital expenditure. In addition, the programme of major building projects announced by my predecessor will be extended. The programme already announced included the first phases of a number of large schemes. I hope to authorise a further phase of the new Greaves Hall Mental Deficiency Hospital to be begun next year, and further phases of some other projects in 1958–59, including Balderton Mental Deficiency Hospital and the West Wales General Hospital, Glangwili.
In that year also some big schemes already announced but not ready to begin earlier are expected to make a start. As well as this, I am today inviting the 66W boards concerned to bring to completion the planning of a number of additional major projects on the assumption that they can be started in 1958–59. These include the first phase of a new hospital at Slough; a new dental hospital at Birmingham; the reconstruction of Hillingdon Hospital; extensions to the St. Helen Hospital, Barnsley, the Orsett branch of the Tilbury and Riverside General Hospital, Poole General Hospital, Bridgend General Hospital, and Lea Castle Mental Deficiency Hospital near Kidderminster; additional hospital facilities at Kettering, extensions to the Luton and Dunstable Hospital, and new out-patient departments at the Royal Northern Hospital, Oldchurch Hospital, Romford, and Selly Oak Hospital, Birmingham.
As I have already indicated, these major projects are additional to the building which will be undertaken by boards from their own share of the funds available for capital expenditure. They are a further stage in our plans to meet the need for major developments in the hospital service, and with the projects already announced constitute a programme of substantial improvements in each hospital region in England and Wales.