Oral Answers to Questions — Scotland – in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 24 June 1964.
Sir John Henderson
, Glasgow Cathcart
12:00,
24 June 1964
asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many hospital patients in Scotland were suffering from tuberculosis during each of the years 1951, 1957 and 1963.
Mr James Stodart
, Edinburgh West
The numbers of hospital beds occupied by patients suffering from respiratory or non-respiratory tuberculosis in the years in question were as follows:
Sir John Henderson
, Glasgow Cathcart
The figures given by the Minister will be welcomed by the people of Scotland. May I ask my hon. Friend if the beds occupied formerly by T.B. cases are now available for general hospital use?
Mr James Stodart
, Edinburgh West
There is certainly no surplus of beds to hospital requirements. The greatly lessened need for such beds over the past few years has resulted in the closure of some of these types of hospitals, either in whole or in part, and the diversion of beds in others to different uses, for example the accommodation of geriatric patients.
Mr William Ross
, Kilmarnock
Could the hon. Gentleman try to correct the impression that he has given by stating the number of patients admitted rather than the number of beds that were used. If he will look at the figures which I had in answer to a similar Question a few days ago, he will discover that I was given an entirely different set of figures. Although the trend was much the same, there was a greater number of patients—7,900 and 4,500.
Mr James Stodart
, Edinburgh West
I shall certainly take note of that. I am afraid that my memory does not carry the number of figures which the hon. Gentleman has given.
Secretary of State was originally the title given to the two officials who conducted the Royal Correspondence under Elizabeth I. Now it is the title held by some of the more important Government Ministers, for example the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.
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