§ Mr. RedmondTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list by(a) regional health authority and (b) district health authority the number of seriously sick children being treated in adult intensive care units instead of paediatric intensive care units for the latest date for which he has figures; and what was the comparable figure 12 months ago.
§ Mrs. Virginia BottomleyThis information is not collected centrally.
The benefits of treating children in paediatric intensive care units were described in our recent guidance document, "The Welfare of Children and Young People in Hospital". a copy of which is available in the Library.
A survey carried out in 1985–86 by a working party of the British Paediatric Association showed that, of 6,000 children who were admitted to intensive care, 4,000 were treated in paediatric intensive care units, and the remainder in adult facilities. The working party has now been reconvened and is expected to consider the organisational and training arrangements required to meet in full the requirement for the intensive care of children.