§ Mr. HobanTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many additional nurses can be employed by the Portsmouth hospitals NHS trust as a consequence of the recent award of additional funds to the trust; and what impact he expects this to have on accident and emergency waiting times. [19479]
§ Ms Blears[holding answer 30 November 2001]: The allocation to Portsmouth hospitals national health service trust to fund additional nursing posts in accident and emergency and support the development of the emergency care strategy is £18,321 this year and £75,117 for 2002–03.
Information on how the extra resources are to be used and the expected benefits for accident and emergency services is available from the chairman of the trust.