§ Mrs. Dunwoodyasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will list the number of handicapped births and the number of post-natal intensive care units, for each regional health authority, at the most recent available date.
§ Mr. Geoffrey FinsbergInformation on the number of handicapped births is not available in the form requested. The difficulties of estimating the total number of such handicaps and the proportion which are avoidable was discussed in the Government reply to the second report of the Social Services Committee on "Perinatal and Neonatal Mortality".—Cmnd. 8084, paras 21 and 22.
The number of neonatal intensive care units for each regional health authority as at March 1980 was as follows:
Regional health authority Northern 2(B) North Western 2(A-1; D-l) Yorkshire 1(D) Mersey 3(A-1; D-2) Trent 3(A-2; B/C-l) West Midlands 4(B-1; B/C-1; C-2) East Anglia 1(A) Oxford 1(A) Wessex 1(D) South Western 6(D) North West Thames 6(B/C-1; D-5) North East Thames 2(A) South East Thames 5(A-l;D-4) South West Thames 4(C-1; D-3) Notes:
The letter A denotes officially designated functioning regional units.
The letter B denotes units which are recognised as having a regional commitment but are not officially designated.
The letter C denotes units which are being developed with a view to designation in due course.
The letter D denotes units which provide a local service. There are in addition two units in London under Boards of Governors,