Oral Answers to Questions — Hospitals – in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 2 December 1963.
Mr Richard Thompson
, Croydon South
12:00,
2 December 1963
asked the Minister of Health whether, following correspondence with the hon. Member for Croydon, South, he is now satisfied with the arrangements for dealing with casualties at the Croydon General Hospital; and if he will make a statement.
Mr Anthony Barber
, Doncaster
No, Sir; the regional board recognises the need for improvement and is considering the adaptation of additional accommodation at present used for other purposes.
Mr Richard Thompson
, Croydon South
Does my right hon. Friend think that a hospital with admittedly inadequate casualty accommodation and with its staff below complement can really cope with the needs of 300,000 people for fifteen hours a day? I welcome the long-term proposals, but cannot my right hon. Friend do something in the short-term to improve the position?
Mr Anthony Barber
, Doncaster
I know of my hon. Friend's concern. He has written to my predecessor about it on a number of occasions. As to the short-term, if the detailed plans to which I referred are accepted by the board he will be happy to know that the extension will probably be available early in the new year.
Ministers make up the Government and almost all are members of the House of Lords or the House of Commons. There are three main types of Minister. Departmental Ministers are in charge of Government Departments. The Government is divided into different Departments which have responsibilities for different areas. For example the Treasury is in charge of Government spending. Departmental Ministers in the Cabinet are generally called 'Secretary of State' but some have special titles such as Chancellor of the Exchequer. Ministers of State and Junior Ministers assist the ministers in charge of the department. They normally have responsibility for a particular area within the department and are sometimes given a title that reflects this - for example Minister of Transport.
