§ Ms. HarmanTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to require those district health authorities which have not appointed consultant community paediatricians to do so.
§ Mrs. Virginia Bottomley[holding answer 20 January 1992]There has been steady growth in the number of consultant paediatricians community child health (CPCCHs) since the establishment of these posts was recommended in the Court report in 1976. The census undertaken by the British Paediatric Association in 1990 showed there were 139 CPCCHs in post in England.
Individual consultant appointments are a matter for health authorities and NHS trusts to decide in the light of local needs consistent with policies agreed between health departments and the profession for the general development of the medical staff career structure.
467WA joint working party comprising representatives of the British Medical Association, the Conference of Royal Colleges and health departments is considering the unification of the career structures for medical staff in hospital and community child health. In an interim report about to be published, the joint working party will be defining the medical staffing needs of an integrated child health service and endorsing the key role that the CPCCH has in the leadership of the community element of this service.