§ Mr. CohenTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Services what plans and resources exist to phase out old X-ray apparatus in National Health Service hospitals in(a) Waltham Forest and (b) nationally; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mrs. CurrieI regret that this information is not held centrally. It is for health authorities individually to take account of radiological equipment needs when determining their priorities for capital expenditure. The safety of such equipment is governed by the Ionising Radiations Regulations 1985, and the Heath and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 empowers health and safety inspectors to order that defective equipment is taken out of service or dismantled and removed from the installation entirely. Records show that no particular category or age group of X-ray equipment has a high incidence of safety problems.
There is considerable investment in new X-ray facilities. Information is available centrally only on capital schemes costing over £1 million, but between 1980 and 1987 more than 260 such schemes were completed that included new X-ray rooms; 82 in 1987. In addition there have been many smaller schemes which included X-ray facilities. We estimate, for example, that in 1987 between £30 million and £35 million was spent on X-ray equipment by health authorities.