§ 32. Mr. James Hamiltonasked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make an up-to-date statement on the structure and management of the maternity service in the reorganised National Health Service, with specific regard to Lanarkshire.
§ Mr. John MacKaySince 1 June, all mainland health boards have introduced arrangements for management of their services based on units of management reporting to232W the area level. The arrangements for the management of maternity services vary from board to board: in some cases these services form separate units of nursing management, in others they are managed jointly with other services.
Lanarkshire health board have arranged their services into four units of management. There is no separate maternity unit of management. I have discussed the board's management structure with the chairman and some of her colleagues; and I have accepted that the board has given careful consideration to the management arrangements they have adopted. The board intends to keep its structure under review in the light of the implications of the introduction of the general management function in Scotland.