§ Lord Molloyasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether any of London's hospitals will have to close as a result of a lack of funds for NHS services in London, and what steps they are taking to implement the recommendations of the King's Fund Institute that more money should be made available for NHS hospitals in London.
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health (Baroness Cumberlege)The factors which underlie the need for change to the pattern of health services in London are long-standing and well-documented. They are set out inMaking London Better, the Government's strategy for the National Health Service in London, and before that in the Tomlinson Report and the King's Fund's own report, London Health Care 2010: changing the future of services in the capital, published in June 1992.
Expenditure per head by district health authorities in 1992/93 was £553 in inner London and £460 in the capital as a whole. This is 46 per cent, and 22 per cent. above the national average respectively.
The King's Fund report entitled London: the key facts has confirmed the view that London's primary and community care services are underdeveloped compared with the rest of the country. An extra £85 million is being invested this year to improve primary and community care services in the capital.