asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what studies has he initiated into the optimum size for district general hospitals, psychiatric hospitals, geriatric hospitals, mental deficiency hospitals and community hospitals, respectively, size being measured both by the number of patients and the number of staff.

The relationship of hospital functional content and size to building costs, staffing requirements, running costs, etc., have been studied over many years and the results are taken into account in current hospital planning. Further studies are undertaken as necessary.