§ Mrs. Renée Shortasked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many neonatal intensive care cots are available in National Health Service hospitals in each regional health authority; how many babies were admitted to them each year since 1981–82; and what proportion of them were premature.
§ Mr. WhitneyI am sorry I cannot give the hon. Member the information she seeks. It is not collected centrally. Although statistics are routinely collected on the availability of cots in special care baby units, there has68W been no generally agreed definition of intensive care to enable the provision made for this to be recorded separately. Figures will be available when the recommendations of the health services information steering group have been implemented in April 1987.