HC Deb 18 June 1974 vol 875 c91W
Mr. Loveridge

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) what is the greatest distance between any two nearest available casualty departments in England and Wales open to the public on the basis of 24 hours a day service with a qualified medical practitioner on duty;

(2) how many additional casualty departments in England and Wales available to the public for 24 hours a day have been opened in each of the past 10 years;

(3) how many casualty departments in England and Wales available to the public for 24 hours a day have been closed in each of the past 10 years;

(4) how many casualty departments in England and Wales are available to the public on the basis of 24 hours service daily.

Dr. Owen

Not all the information requested is readily obtainable and I would not feel justified in asking hospital boards to undertake a special statistical survey particularly at this time when they face all the problems of reorganisation.