Mr. Bernard Gloster:

There is no doubt that the living and build environment people live in, whether they are suffering from a neurological condition or many other illnesses, is a contributing factor to whether they can successfully remain at home and recover and whether they can exploit their full potential. There is no question about that. Some of us have been around long enough to remember things such as housing aid for the elderly schemes and different things, insulating houses and so on. There is no doubt that it is a challenge. What we specialise in is not the building, although we do have good relationships with local authorities. We specialise in the equipment. There is certainly now far better provision of equipment to assist people at home. That includes everything from grab rails to raised toilet seats and various fall prevention equipment. There is a considerable amount of technology available in that regard and we are providing it.

The deficit and the gap on the rehabilitation and neurology side is in the specialist service. The general community services, such as OT, physiotherapy and many of the other supports that will help people to live in the community, are unrecognisable compared with what they were. They have substantially improved. There is evidence to demonstrate that in tens of thousands of cases. The specialist piece is where there is a significant deficit and the advocates would agree with that. Those are the community teams about which Mr. Canavan was talking right back up to specialist beds nationally.