§ Mr. Llewellynasked the Minister of Health whether he will make a statement concerning the shortage of fully-qualified midwives in parts of Wales.
§ Mr. Walker-SmithThe shortage of midwives in hospitals in Wales is estimated by the Welsh Regional Hospital Board to be 15 per cent. of the total numbers required. The areas in which the shortages are most serious are those of the Rhymney and Sirhowy Valleys, Merthyr and Aberdare, Pontypridd and Rhondda, and Caernarvon and Anglesey Hospital Management Committees. En the domiciliary field there are shortages in 10 of the 17 local health authority areas, notably in Carmarthenshire, Monmouthshire, Merthyr Tydfil and Swansea, but the local authorities have been able to maintain an adequate service. The measures which are being 49W taken to remedy shortages, described by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Secretary in the Adjournment debate on 26th January, are applicable to Wales in the same way as to England.