Military Hospitals (Woolwich) (Hansard, 14 January 1975)

§ Mr. Cartwright
asked the Secretary of State for Defence how many beds are now available at the Royal Herbert Military Hospital, Woolwich.

§ Mr. Robert C. Brown
It is a 280-bed hospital with 205 beds currently equipped and staffed.

§ Mr. Cartwright
asked the Secretary of State for Defence how many beds are now available at the Military Maternity Hospital, Woolwich.

§ Mr. Robert C. Brown
It is a 30-bed hospital with 24 beds currently equipped and staffed.

§ Mr. Cartwright
asked the Secretary of State for Defence if he will provide the following information about the new military hospital now under construction at Woolwich Common: (a) the expected completion date, (b) the estimated total cost, (c) the number of general beds to be provided, (d) the number of general beds expected to be needed to meet military requirements, (e) the number of maternity beds to be provided and (f) the number of maternity beds expected to be needed to meet military requirements.
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§ Mr. Robert C. Brown
It is planned to commission the hospital for use in May 1977.
The estimated cost of the hospital under construction is £6½ million, and further work on staff accommodation and other facilities is planned; tenders for these are expected shortly.
The hospital will replace the Woolwich military hospitals and also the Queen Alexandra Military Hospital, Millbank. It will have 209 general—including paediatric—and 30 maternity beds, and a further 240 speciality beds as it will be the Army's reference hospital.

§ Mr. Cartwright
asked the Secretary of State for Defence whether any of the beds to be provided at the new military hospital at Woolwich Common are likely to be made available for the use of the Greenwich and Bexley Area Health Authority.

§ Mr. Robert C. Brown
We shall make a proportion of beds at the new Woolwich Hospital available to National Health Service patients, in accordance with our general practice for military hospitals, and arrangements to this end are under discussion.

§ Mr. Cartwright
asked the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has for the future use of the site and buildings of the Royal Herbert Military Hospital, Woolwich, after the completion of the new military hospital at Woolwich Common.

§ Mr. Robert C. Brown
No decision has yet been made. However, if there is no future Ministry of Defence requirement for the buildings or site of the hosptal, the Property Services Agency of the Department of the Environment will follow the usual redundant land and accommodation procedure, offering the hospital first to other Government Departments and then to the local authorities.