§ Mr. Kennedyasked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he will relax his requirement to the Highland health board which necessitates an overall reduction of 30 in acute bed complement in the board's area in order to provide financial savings for the opening of a control of infection unit in Inverness.
§ Mr. John MacKayNo. The requirement placed on the Highland health board is to ensure that there is no increase in the provision of acute services in the area, so that available resources are not deflected from priority services. Thirteen beds previously designated as acute have been redesignated as geriatric long stay.