18. Mrs. Butlerasked the Minister of Health what proportion of mothers confined in hospital in the Greater London area in the past year had to use the emergency bed service.
§ Mr. BraineAbout 3 per cent. in 1962.
Mrs. ButlerIs it not unsatisfactory that a mother should have to use this emergency bed service, with the nervous strain involved, because a shortage of maternity beds has made a hospital booking impossible? Can the Minister say when he expects the demand and supply to be more nearly related than it is at present in the Greater London area?
§ Mr. BraineAs I think the hon. Lady knows, in the County of London provision for confinement in hospital is well above the national average and, indeed, above the recommended level in the Cranbrook Report. But I take the hon. Lady's point, and she might like to know that investigations as to the special reasons which are resulting in the emergency bed service being increasingly used are under way.