§ Dr. Glynasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what proportion of the total number of hospital beds in the United Kingdom are private, either in NHS or other hospitals or nursing homes.
§ Dr. OwenI am afraid the information is not available in the form requested. In 1974 there were 499,645 available beds in358W NHS hospitals in the United Kingdom. Currently, 4,866 of these beds are authorised for use by private patients. At 31st December 1974 there were 29,117 beds in registered private hospitals and nursing homes. Some 4,000 of these beds were occupied by NHS patients during the year under contractual arrangements made by health authorities and boards.