§ Mr. Gowasked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) by how many he will have to increase the number of beds at the National Spinal Injuries Centre, Stoke Mandeville, in order that there should be sufficient beds to meet demand;
(2) whether he will make a statement about the shortage of staff at the National Spinal Injuries Centre, Stoke Mandeville, 50W following the reduction of the number of beds from 188 in 1967 to 154 in November 1977; and to what extent the decline in the number of beds has been instituted by a decline in the need for such beds;
(3) what proposals he has to increase the number of beds at the National Spinal Injuries Centre at Stoke Mandeville above the present number of 154.
§ Mr. MoyleThe reduction in the number of beds took place because suitable nursing staff were not available in sufficient numbers. I do not propose to ask the health authorities to increase the number of beds presently available at the National Spinal Injuries Centre. There is an uneven distribution of spinal injuries units throughout the country and a shortage of beds in the south of England which should be very largely rectified when the planned new unit at the Odstock Hospital, Salisbury comes into use in the early 1980s.