Consultants

HC Deb 21 February 1989 vol 147 cc599-600W

23. Mrs. Gorman

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the future position of consultants within the National Health Service.

Mr. Mellor

The White Paper "Working for Patients" fully recognises the continuing key role of consultants in the National Health Service and emphasises the need for them to play an increased role in the management of the service. In particular there will be five significant developments. First, the new funding arrangements will steer resources to those consultants best able to provide a good quality service and to treat more patients. Secondly, the Government hope that within the next two years all consultants will be taking part in "medical audit" and thus be taking the lead in improving the quality of service to patients. Thirdly, the rapid expansion planned for the resource management initiative will provide budgetary and information systems to allow consultants to make the best use of the resources available to them. Fourthly, the day-to-day management of consultants' contracts will take place at district (rather than regional) level and the managerial element of consultants' duties will be better

Mr. Freeman

The information is shown in the table.

Notifications of abortions which took place with a gestation period of 21, 23 and 24 weeks, showing the number with a mention of ground 4 of the 1967 Abortion Act, which states there is a substantial risk that if the child was born it would suffer such physical or mental abnormalities as to be seriously handicapped for England and Wales—1987.

Weeks	A All groundstotal	B Ground 4 total	Per cent.B of A
21	890	58	6.5
23	903	27	3.0
24	107	19	17.8
Toal	1,900	104	5.5

75. Mr. Andrew Bowden

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the number of abortions according to the grounds of termination in 1987 for 18 weeks and each week thereafter to 28 weeks.

Mr. Freeman

The information is given in the table:

recognised in the distinction award system. Finally, we intend to introduce a scheme under which 100 extra consultant posts can be created over the next three years.