§ Dr. Roger Thomasasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will examine the finances available for the care of those infants who require admission to neonatal intensive care units; and whether he has any evidence that in some regions the demand of children born during domiciliary confinements exceeds the available facilities for such care.
§ Mr. Geoffrey FinsbergRegional and district health authorities finance their neonatal care facilities out of the general funds allocated to them for all types of health care; the provision made is a matter for their judgment in the light of their own priorities, needs and local circumstances. The available evidence does not suggest that babies born in domiciliary confinements—who make up less than 2 per cent. of all births—make particular demands on neonatal intensive care.