§ 36. Rear-Admiral Morgan-Gilesasked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether she is aware of the unsatisfactory conditions for patients and staff in the Royal Hampshire County Hospital in Winchester arising from the outdated and outmoded buildings; whether she will allocate funds to maintain the programme for rebuilding this hospital; and if she will make a statement.
§ Dr. OwenI am aware of the problem of maintaining satisfactory standards in old buildings during this period of financial restraint but I am satisfied that the Wessex Regional Health Authority152W and the Hampshire Area Health Authority are doing all they can to ease the problem; plans for some upgrading of wards at an estimated cost of £115,000 are under consideration. Other plans for improvements will depend very much on future levels of public expenditure and the implications of this for National Health Service expenditure.