Maternity Services (Hansard, 10 July 1990)

§ Dame Jill Knight
To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much increased spending on maternity services has taken place in the last 11 years.
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§ Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
Between 1977–78 and 1988–89 total expenditure on National Health Service maternity services—community and hospital—increased from £235 million to £736 million—an increase in real terms of 27.1 per cent.

§ Mrs. Maureen Hicks
To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the changes made to maternity services in the last 10 years.

§ Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
There has been a concerted programme of action aimed at reducing maternal, perinatal and infant mortality, and developing a partnership between health service professionals and mothers and their families in the delivery of a more personal standard of maternity care. There has also been a major expansion in neonatal intensive care.
As a result mortality rates have been reduced to the lowest levels so far achieved, it is general practice for a partner to remain with the mother during delivery and schemes are being introduced for early discharge from hospital into the care of a community midwife. Since 1980–81, real-term expenditure on the maternity services has increased by 16 per cent., the number of midwives by 17 per cent., and the number of nursing and midwifery staff employed in special and neonatal intensive care by 136 per cent.