§ Mrs. Jegerasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what arrangements have been made for carrying on the work of the Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Hospital in an identifiable form following the proposed closure; what is the estimated cost per bed of the alternative arrangements; and what would be the cost per bed of retaining the hospital on its present site.
§ Mr. MoyleIt is intended that all in-patient services will be transferred to the Whittington Hospital by the end of the year, when it is hoped that the present interim provision may be increased to a total of some 70 beds. These beds should be in two ward groupings. The project team is con-408W tinuing to plan the long-term establishment of facilities for women within the Islington district general hospital complex of the Whittington and Royal Northern Hospitals. This cannot be implemented until the commissioning of the diagnostic block in the Whittington Hospital allows a greater degree of rearrangement so that the name of Elizabeth Garrett Anderson may be perpetuated in a more suitable way.
The estimated cost per bed of the alternative arrangements is about £16 per day which at present is about half the cost of a bed in the Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Hospital. In addition, the Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Hospital would require considerable capital expenditure if it were to continue on its present site.