§ Mrs. Renée Shortasked the Secretary of State for Social Services how long were the average waiting times for appointments for mothers of ethnic minority groups in antenatal clinics(a) in the Greater London area and(b) in the west midlands region in comparison with those for mothers of the indigenous population.
§ Mr. John PattenInformation on this is not collected centrally but I can see no reason why there should be any differentiation between mothers from different ethnic groups when bookings are made for antenatal clinics.
§ Mrs. Renée Shortasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what arrangements he intends to make for the provision of more evening antenatal clinic facilities to enable women and mothers with children to attend with their husbands after finishing work.
§ Mr. John PattenThe Maternity Services Advisory Committee in its first report recommended that health authorities should involve fathers in antenatal care where-ever possible, and that an assessment should be made of the need for evening or weekend clinics in order to overcome any problems of access. We have commended the report to health authorities for them to consider what action can and should be taken locally.