HC Deb 18 March 1994 vol 239 cc867-8W
Mr. A. Cecil Walker

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many beds per 1,000 people are available in(a) Northern Ireland hospitals and (b) Belfast hospitals.

Mr. Ancram

The available information is as follows:

Available beds Population Available beds per 1,000 population
Northern Ireland 11,712 1,610,268 7.3
Greater Belfast area 3,721 1n/a 1n/a

Note:

Hospitals in the Greater Belfast area have been taken as those in Greenpark Healthcare Trust (Musgrave Park, Belvoir and Forster Green), Royal Group of Hospitals Trust (Royal Victoria, Royal Maternity and Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children), Belfast City Hospital Trust, the Ulster North Down and Ards Trust (The Ulster) and the Mater Infirmorum Hospital and Purdysburn Hospital.

1Hospitals in the Greater Belfast area cater for people from all over Northern Ireland. It is therefore not appropriate to directly calculate available beds per 1,000 population in relation to the Greater Belfast population.