§ Baroness Faithfullasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether the arrangements for the closure of Banstead Hospital are satisfactory, whether Horton Hospital has adequate resources to deal with patients from Banstead, and whether the community care facilities are meeting the needs of patients.
§ Baroness TrumpingtonThe arrangements for the closure of Banstead Hospital and for the provision of services at Horton Hospital are the responsibility of Riverside District Health Authority. Banstead Hospital closed in 1986 after a long period of planning and consultation with other health authorities, local authorities and interested parties. As part of the strategy for the closure of Banstead, resources were channelled to Horton Hospital to upgrade facilities and improve staffing levels, to enable the hospital to cater for those patients transferred there from Banstead.
Local services for patients who were not transferred to Horton are provided by several district health authorities, including Riverside, and again considerable resources were channelled into these services as part of the overall strategy.