§ Mr. Carter-Jonesasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will give the numbers, respectively, of community midwives and hospital-based midwives working for each area health authority at the last date for which figures are available; if he is satisfied with the community midwifery service; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. DeakinsInformation on the numbers of hospital midwifery staff is not available centrally on an area health authority basis. The number of community midwifery staff by area health authority and regional health authority, and of hospital midwifery staff by regional
548W
Whole-time equivalents Regional and Area Health Authorities Community midwifery staff * Hospital midwifery staff Northern RHA 189.8 1,059.1 Cleveland AHA 53.0 Cumbria AHA 20.0 Durham AHA 38.5 Northumberland AHA 3.5 Gateshead AHA 17.0 Newcastle-upon-Tyne AHA(T) 17.5 North Tyneside AHA 11.0 South Tyneside AHA — Sunderland AHA 29.3 Yorkshire RHA 164.8 1,169.2 Humberside AHA 35.7 North Yorkshire AHA 16.7 Bradford AHA 2.1 Calderdale AHA 16.0 Kirklees AHA 18.8 Leeds AHA(T) 39.1 Wakefield AHA 36.4 Trent RHA 289.8 1,371.7 Derbyshire AHA 45.4 Leicestershire AHA(T) 70.7 Lincolnshire AHA 10.2 Nottinghamshire AHA(T) 68.2 Barnsley AHA — Doncaster AHA 17.6 Rotherham AHA 24.0 Sheffield AHA(T) 53.7 East Anglia RHA 145.3 621.0 Cambridgeshire AHA(T) 45.5 Norfolk AHA 75.2 Suffolk AHA 24.6 North West Thames RHA 121.0 1,271.9 Bedfordshire AHA 45.0 Hertfordshire AHA 43.1 Barnet AHA — Brent and Harrow AHA — Ealing, Hammersmith and Hounslow AHA(T) 18.6 Hillingdon AHA 14.3 Kensington and Chelsea and Westminster AHA(T) — North East Thames RHA 175.8 1,578.3 Essex AHA 91.3 Barking and Havering AHA 29.3 Camden and Islington AHA(T) 3.0 City and East London AHA(T) 13.7 Enfield and Haringey AHA 27.5 Redbridge and Walthsm Forest AHA [...] health authority only, at 30th September 1976 is set out below.
Responsibility for deciding on the numbers and types of staff required to meet specific service commitments rests with individual health authorities. Each area health authority sets its own staffing levels taking into account particular local requirements and the availability of resources. The increasing trend towards an integrated midwifery service means that a number of midwives working in hospitals will also provide a service within the community. This factor should be taken into account in any assessment of the figures for community midwives.
I am aware that there are problems particularly in connection with domiciliary confinements, and my Department is consulting on means to overcome this.
549W550W
Whole-time equivalents Regional and Area Health Authorities Community midwifery staff* Hospital midwifery staff South East Thames RHA 200.4 1,349.7 East Sussex AHA 26.1 Kent AHA 131.4 Greenwich and Bexley AHA 8.0 Bromley AHA 19.9 Lambeth, Southwark and Lewisham AHA(T) 15.0 South West Thames RHA 73.0 1,031.1 Surrey AHA 38.3 West Sussex AHA 1.3 Croydon AHA 13.5 Kingston and Richmond AHA 9.9 Merton, Sutton and Wandsworth AHA(T) 10.0 Wessex RHA 205.1 682.8 Dorset AHA 14.0 Hampshire AHA(T) 143.8 Wiltshire AHA 36.3 Isle of Wight AHA 11.0 Oxford RHA 84.2 819.9 Berkshire AHA 24.4 Buckinghamshire AHA 36.5 Northamptonshire AHA 3.8 Oxfordshire AHA(T) 19.5 South Western RHA 224.2 950.0 Avon AHA(T) 39.7 Cornwall and Isles of Stilly AHA 29.2 Devon AHA 71.5 Gloucestershire AHA 50.0 Somerset AHA 33.8 West Midlands RHA 461.5 1,803.1 Hereford and Worcester AHA 47.0 Salop AHA 2.2 Staffordshire AHA 112.6 Warwickshire AHA 20.7 Birmingham AHA(T) 109.3 Coventry AHA 31.2 Dudley AHA 24.7 Sandwell AHA 34.0 Solihull AHA 20.8 Walsall AHA 31.0 Wolverhampton AHA 28.0 Mersey RHA 160.1 962.6 Cheshire AHA 54.3 Liverpool AHA(T) 23.6 St. Helens and Knowsley AHA 36.2 Sefton AHA — Wirral AHA — North Western RHA 330.4 1,606.6 Lancashire AHA 51.1 Bolton AHA 19.5 Bury AHA 17.0 Manchester AHA(T) 50.6 Oldham AHA 32.0 Rochdale AHA 21.0 Salford AHA(T) 29.5 Stockport AHA 24.0 Tameside AHA 31.9 Trafford AHA 17.0 Wigan AHA 36.8 * Excluding pupil midwives.