HC Deb 04 May 1977 vol 931 cc204-6W
Mr. Stanbrook

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will give the number of beds available for patients in Orpington Hospital in each year since 1973, giving the categories to which they are allocated and indicating what categories of patients are now treated else-where.

Mr. Moyle

The table below shows the average number of beds available for each of the specialties named in each year since 1973, together with the number of beds allocated to each specialty on 31st December of that year. When patients are admitted under a specialty for which no beds are formally allocated these are made available by "borrowing" from another specialty within the ward of admission. There is thus a corresponding reduction in the bed availability of this later specialty Even when beds are available it is clearly open to a doctor to take a clinical decision to refer a patient to another unit providing similar facilities locally. The Bromley Area Health Authority is fully aware of the need to ensure that services at Orpington are integrated with these others so that any shifting pattern of demand may be properly met.

ALLOCATION AND AVAILABILITY OF BEDS AT ORPINGTON HOSPITAL
1973 1974 1975 1976
Allocated beds Average available Allocated beds Average available Allocated beds Average available Allocated beds Average available
General medicine … … … … … 80 85.8 80 87.2 80 81.4 88 86.1
Paediatrics … … … … … 11 7.5 11 4.3 11 4.8 11 6.5
Chest diseases … … … … … 20 7.1 20 7.6 20 12.1 — 2.3
Dermatology … … … … … — 1.5 — 1.5 — 0.8 — 1.7
Neurology … … … … … — — — — — 0.1 — —
Physical medicine … … … … … — 6.5 — 6.8 — 5.9 12 10.9
Geriatrics … … … … … 224 224.0 224 223.5 224 224.1 224 223.1
General surgery … … … … … 83 85.2 89 83.7 89 87.5 89 83.8
ENT surgery … … … … … 11 10.1 10 9.9 10 10.0 10 9.8
Traumatic and orthopaedic surgery … … … … … 27 40.6 36 48.2 36 47.3 36 41.9
Ophthalmology … … … … … 10 8.3 1 6.7 1 1.0 1 1.0
Dentistry … … … … … 2 2.1 2 2.2 2 2.3 2 2.0
Gynaecology … … … … … 12 10.6 10 9.9 10 9.1 10 8.6
Mental illness … … … … … — 4.1 — 2.5 — 2.3 — 2.5
Staff … … … … … 4 4.0 4 3.8 4 3.9 4 3.9
Unclassified … … … … … 28 12.7 25 13.1 25 15.2 25 16.6
HOSPITAL TOTAL … … … … … 512 510.1 512 510.9 512 507.8 512 500.7