§ Mrs. Renée Shortasked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) if he will allocate additional resources to regional health authorities to enable them to improve nursing staff levels in intensive care baby units;
(2) if he will allocate additional resources to health authorities to enable them to improve facilities for revision surgery required by patients after hip replacement operations.
§ Mr. Kenneth ClarkeWe have this year allocated to regional health authorities in England additional cash of over £500 million or 5.5 per cent. In addition, they have told us that they plan to generate about £150 million from their cost improvement programmes. We expect them to make substantial improvements in patient services from within these extra resources. But it is for health authorities to determine their own priorities between all the various specialties, including intensive baby care and orthopaedic surgery, in the light of national guidance and local circumstances.
So far as intensive baby care is concerned, the third report of the Maternity Services Advisory Committee 255W offers guidance on the care of small and ill babies and on how services may best be organised. We have commended this advice to health authorities to consider what action could and should be taken locally in response to it.