11. Mr. Slaterasked the Minister of Health how many child psychiatrist consultants are employed by the Newcastle Regional Hospital Board; and how such number compares with other boards of similar regional areas throughout the country.
§ Mr. Walker-SmithI understand that ten specialists in psychiatry employed by the Newcastle Regional Hospital Board work in children's clinics. I regret that similar information for other regions is not centrally available.
Mr. SlaterIs the Minister satisfied with this number of specialists, in view of the area covered by the regional board? Can he state how the Newcastle Regional Board area is broken up and from which centres the consultants operate?
§ Mr. Walker-SmithI could not give a detailed answer to the second part of that question except on notice. In regard to the first part of the supplementary question, the total number of consultant psychiatrists of all kinds in the Newcastle region certainly compares not unfavourably with the numbers available in most other regions.
§ Dame Irene WardHoorah.