§ Dr. Richard TaylorTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what the costs to the Worcestershire Acute Hospital NHS Trust are of providing the off-site storage for patient records on the Hampton Lovett Industrial Estate; how many tenders were received for providing this service; and at what level the decision was made to accept the successful tender. [102149]
§ Mr. LammyThe operating costs of the medical records storage facility at Hampton Lovett are approximately £140,000 per annum. The service itself is operated by staff of the Worcestershire Acute Hospitals National Health Service Trust in a leased warehouse. In line with normal NHS procedures for property leasing, the process followed was to identify storage of suitable size and location and to have the rent and rates negotiated and ratified by the district valuer. Competitive tendering was used to award contracts for the internal refurbishment of the building.