§ 57. Dame Irene Wardasked the Minister of Health what is the average annual cost of maintaining an individual in a geriatric ward; and what is the capital commitment of accommodation in respect of each person.
§ Mr. K. RobinsonNo separate costs are available for geriatric wards. The majority of geriatric patients are treated in hospitals for the chronic sick and the average cost for 1963–64 of treating patients in this type of hospital and in a small number of other hospitals specialising in the treatment of geriatrics was about £780. In a new hospital the capital cost per bed is likely to be between £4,500 and £6,000.