§ Mr. Win GriffithsTo ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list those health authorities in Wales which anticipate a shortage of midwives over the next five years; what is the estimated shortage; and what are the measures he is proposing to overcome it.
§ Mr. GristMidwifery requirements were examined in the first round of the manpower resource planning exercise undertaken by the Health Service in Wales last year. The purpose of the exercise, initiated by the manpower steering group established by the Department in 1986, is to identify future manpower requirements and enable action to be taken to meet these requirements at the all-Wales level.
Aggregation of district health authorities' returns shows that, at the all-Wales level, shortfall in the number of qualified midwives over planned staffing levels varies from between five and 27 (whole-time equivalents) over the period to 1992. Compared to a planned staffing level in excess of 1,200, these projected shortfalls are not considered sizeable. It would not be appropriate to list individual district figures, given the tentative nature of some of the first round plans.
Based on the all-Wales figures, a report on the outcome of the first planning round has recommended that a direct entry midwifery training scheme should be considered which is currently being addressed by the Welsh National Board for Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting, and that DHA cross-boundary training should be explored on an all-Wales basis. It is hoped that a diploma in midwifery based on Mid and South Glamorgan health authorities will start this year at the Welsh college of medicine, and that this will eventually lead to a degree in midwifery.