§ Mr. Roseasked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he will make a statement on the future of emergency and accident hospital facilities for the north-east of Manchester.
§ Sir K. JosephThe accident and emergency services for North-East Manchester have recently been reviewed by the Manchester Regional Hospital Board, which has submitted to me proposals for rationalisation of these services, involving the possible closure of one or more of the existing accident and emergency departments in the North-East Manchester Hospital Group.
I have agreed that the board should consult with local health authorities and interested groups on certain of their proposals; others are still under preliminary consideration in my Department. Until these consultations and studies are complete I cannot make a statement on the future of the services. I do in general foresee the likelihood of a measure of concentration of the facilities with a view to increased efficiency and an overall improvement in the standard of accident and emergency services for the area. This would be in accord with my general policy on the provision of these services.