§ 99. Mr. Sorensenasked the Minister of Health approximately what is the cost of single analgesic apparatus as compared with other apparatus for a similar purpose; to what extent specialists in his Department have considered the respective merits of different methods of whole or partial anaethesia in confinement; and what steps are being taken to secure more rapid production, distribution and training.
§ Mr. BevanI am not clear what comparison my hon. Friend has in mind. Portable apparatus approved for use by midwives costs £20 to £25. Midwives use apparatus and methods approved by the Central Midwives Board on the advice of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists. Production and distribution of apparatus are satisfactory. Two hundred and twenty institutions have been approved for training midwives in this matter.