Sir W. Anstruther Grayasked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he has considered the Report of the Montgomery Committee on Maternity Services in Scotland; and what action he proposes to take on it.
§ Mr. MaclayI have considered the Report carefully, and I am grateful to the Committee for their valuable review of the Scottish maternity services. I propose to discuss with representatives of the medical profession the Committee's recommendations about the place of the general practitioner in the maternity services. I am in touch with the local authority associations and hope to issue a circular to local authorities shortly on the recommendations that affect them.
As regards the recommendations concerning the hospital service, I have asked the Western Regional Hospital Board to submit proposals for increasing their maternity bed provision on lines suggested by the Committee; I have corn-mended to all hospital authorities the Committee's other recommendations, including the review of systems of admission to obstetric units; and I have asked Boards to reconsider the local arrangements for co-ordinating maternity services and to report to me on them.