§ Mr. Patrick Jenkinasked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he will make a statement following the recent visit of the Minister of State to King's College Hospital, South London.
§ Mr. MoylePrior to my visit I had made it clear in a letter to the chairman of the Lambeth, Southwark and Lewisham AHA(T) that King's College Hospital will continue to be needed as a district general hospital and as a major teaching hospital in its present location as far ahead as anyone can sensibly predict.
During my visit, I was impressed by the high standards of care and service given to the community by all the staff of the hospital. I was also made acutely 443W aware of the difficulties currently experienced as a result of inadequate accommodation in the out-patient and accident and emergency departments. I am sure that the RHA, whose responsibility it is, will recognise the need to redevelop these departments when deciding their overall regional priorities. I was also impressed by the proposals under consideration for major improvements in services for children with possible significant financial aid from a voluntary organisation.
I was particularly encouraged by the remarkable progress achieved by the specialist unit for liver disease and the plans for its development. Units of this kind which provide a national service present particular problems in resource allocation, which my Department is studying.