§ Mr. Barry JonesTo ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement on the role of community hospitals. [26699]
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§ Mr. Win Griffiths"Community Hospitals in Wales—the Future", issued in October 1996, provided health authorities and trusts with advice regarding the potential of community hospitals.
Community hospitals may be used to reduce the pressure on acute hospitals by providing outreach clinics, admitting patients who do not require the specialist facilities of acute hospitals and receiving patients from acute hospitals for rehabilitation and recovery.
It is for each health authority, working with NHS trusts, to decide each hospital's precise function and the development of a precise, locally agreed role is vital to the future of each individual hospital.