§ Mr. Frank R. Whiteasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what action is being taken to increase the number of beds available and to appoint additional consultants to cater for geriatric and psycho-geriatric cases in the Bury area health authority.
§ Mr. MoyleA unit for the elderly severely mentally infirm with 56 beds and 50 day places is being built at Fairfield general hospital and should be completed by December 1979. Two 24 bed 769W wards for geriatric patients are planned for a start in 1982 and 1983, respectively, to replace the existing accommodation. No additional consultant geriatrician post has been allocated to the North-Western regional health authority for 1979–80, but, as my hon. Friend knows, Bury has top priority within the region for such an appointment, when it can be made. The regional health authority has so far been unable to fill a vacancy in Bury for a consultant psychiatrist.