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St. Bartholomew's Hospital

: After the interventions that have been made, I have only a few minutes in which to respond to the debate. It is important that I reply to the points that have been made. If my hon. Friend will forgive me, I shall press on. I have been asked to explain why we are in such a situation. For many years, it has been widely acknowledged that there is a need to develop the facilities that are provided through the hospitals. Much of the estate is old and generally in poor condition. It was not designed to support 21st health care and it is in need of modernisation. I acknowledge that, and I hope that it will be accepted that the Government acknowledge it, too. Departments at Barts and the Royal London are not co-located for efficiency. The buildings do not lend themselves to the implementation of modern models of care. There is a need for new facilities in that part of London. A scheme of such a size or complexity has not been undertaken by the NHS before. It provides a total of 1,248 beds across two sites. When complete, it will be Britain's biggest new hospital. Therefore, it is right and proper for us to undertake greater scrutiny when the proposals are of such magnitude. We will soon be publishing a White Paper on the future of health care services in the community. We have been listening to what the public tell us about how they want to move some services from hospitals out into local communities wherever it is safe and economic to do so. People want personalised services that are built around their needs.