§ Mr. Wardasked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many burns units exist in the National Health Service by regional health authority; and how many beds are provided in each.
§ Mr. MoyleFollowing is a list of units primarily concerned with the treatment of burns:
N-W Thames RHA
Mount Vernon Hospital, Northwood (12 beds).
N-E Thames RHA
Hospital for Sick Children, London W.C., (6 beds).
S-E Thames RHA
Queen Victoria Hospital, East Grinstead (12 beds).
692WS-W Thames RHA
Queen Mary's Hospital, Roehampton (23 beds).
Wessex RHA
Salisbury General Hospital (21 beds).
S-Western RHA
Frenchay Hospital, Bristol (48 beds including some children's beds used for plastic surgery).
Royal Naval Hospital, Devonport (30 beds including beds used for plastic surgery).
Oxford RHA
Stoke Mandeville Hospital, Aylesbury (18 beds).
W-Midlands RHA
Birmingham Accident Hospital (40 beds).
Trent RHA
Wharncliffe Hospital, Sheffield (9 beds).
Yorkshire RHA
Pinderfields General Hospital, Wakefield (16 beds).
N-Western RHA
Withington Hospital, Manchester (12 beds).
Booth Hall (Children's) Hospital, Manchester (19 beds).
Northern RHA
Middlesbrough General Hospital (28 beds including beds used for plastic surgery).
N. Tees Hospital (24 beds for children also used for plastic surgery).
Fleming Memorial Hospital, Newcastle (19 beds for children also used for plastic surgery).
Newcastle General Hospital (13 beds).
Mersey RHA
Wiston Hospital, Liverpool (80 beds including beds used for plastic surgery).
East Anglia
(I would refer my hon. Friend to my reply to his other Question today).
Treatment of burns is also undertaken by some units primarily concerned with plastic surgery, and many general hospitals would provide treatment in general wards or intensive therapy units according to the severity of the burn.
§ Mr. Wardasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what provision of specialist burns unit beds is planned for the East Anglian regional health area.
§ Mr. MoyleFacilities in East Anglia for the treatment of burns are located at the plastic surgery units at the West Norwich Hospital and Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge. Some patients suffering from burns are, however, sent to units outside the region. The regional 693W health authority currently has plans for improvements to the facilities existing at Norwich, and the possibility of similar improvements at the Cambridge unit are under consideration. The improvements at Norwich have a high priority in the RHA's programme; and planning on that scheme is currently in progress.
In the longer term, and subject to the available finance and other priorities, the RHA intends to provide a purpose-built burns unit within the region. In the meantime, it will of course be keeping a close watch on the use of and demand for these facilities in the region.
§ Mr. Wardasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is the planned provision for burns unit beds in National Health Service hospitals; and what travelling distance is regarded as acceptable between a burns incident and specialist treatment facility.
§ Mr. MoyleA sufficient provision of beds in specialist burns units is approximately 0.8 beds per 100,000 population, but this will vary according to the nature of the region served. A burns unit should normally serve a whole region and be associated with a major plastic surgery department. Provision of a specialist service on a regional basis entails acceptance of significant travelling distances, but initial treatment of burns is a proper function of the accident and emergency department to which the patient is first taken.
§ Mr. Wardasked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he will call for a report on the lack of specialised burns facilities at Peterborough District Hospitals in view of the evidence given at the recent inquest in Peterborough on the death of Miss Nellie Deaton of 23 Parliament Street, Peterborough.
§ Mr. MoyleThe provision of a burns unit at Peterborough would not be practicable in isolation from a plastic surgery unit, and the RHA has no plans to provide one. Burns patients from Peterborough might go to Cambridge, Leicester or Norwich subject to arrangement between the consultants concerned.