§ Viscount Simonasked Her Majesty's Government:
What is the average cost to the National Health Service of (a) creating a new hospital bed place and (b) training a new non-specialist nurse. [HL2570]
§ Lord Hunt of Kings HeathThe cost of creating a new hospital bed place in a new hospital is approximately £325,000, excluding value added tax at current prices. The cost includes the capital construction cost, equipment costs and professional fees incurred, as well as a proportion of the costs of the supporting services within the new hospital such as operating theatres, outpatient departments, accident and emergency services, catering, office accommodation, public areas, pharmacy, pathology and radiology. It does not include the running costs necessary to make the bed operational, such as staffing, linen or cleaning. A new bed in an existing hospital would be considerably cheaper.
The total average cost to the National Health Service of training a new non-specialist nurse is £33,000 over three years.