§ Mr. Moyleasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what conclusions he has reached as a result of the visit of the Minister of State to Stoke Mandeville hospital on 20 November.
§ Mr. Patrick JenkinMy hon. Friend concluded that, in view of the national importance of the national spinal injuries centre at Stoke Mandeville hospital, one of the two wards now closed should be reopened as soon as possible and that the other should be reserved for the use394W of patients with spinal injuries. He also concluded that there is a need for new arrangements to ensure that the cost of the national spinal injuries centre is separately identified within the health authorities' target allocations.
The national spinal injuries centre is by any standards a "centre of excellence" of national as well as of regional significance and should be regarded as such. I hope that it may prove possible over the next few years, with the help of voluntary moneys, to provide facilities which reflect this.