§ Mr. McCrindleasked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) if it remains his policy to phase out specialist hospitals for the treatment of epilepsy;
(2) if he is yet able to confirm that St. Faith's Hospital, Brentwood, will close in 657W accordance with the policy of phasing out specialist hospitals for the treatment of epilepsy; and, if so, when.
§ Mr. MoyleThe only specialist hospital for the care of people with epilepsy is St. Faith's Hospital, Brentwood. Its future is a matter for the Barking and Havering Area Health Authority to consider in the first instance. No proposal has been made by that authority to open consultations with a view to closure. Three experimental hospital-based special centres were set up at Chalfont, York and Park Hospital, Oxford for a trial period, as recommended in the Reid Report on "People with Epilepsy" 1969. These are currently undergoing a formal evaluation by the Department, and it is not possible to make a statement on their future before the full results of this evaluation are known.