§ Mr. DonohoeTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) if he will make a statement on the incidence of upper limb defects in the Ayrshire and Arran health board area;
(2) what discussions his Department has held with the Ayrshire and Arran health board concerning the incidence of upper limb defects in children within the Ayrshire and Arran health board area;
(3) which agencies in Scotland are charged with monitoring the incidence of limb defects in children born in Scotland;
(4) what contact took place during the investigation of limb defects in the area of the Ayrshire and Arran health board between the board, the General Register Office for Scotland and the Medical Research Council;
(5) how many (a) upper limb and (b) lower limb defects occurred in children born within each health board area in Scotland since 1986.
§ Mr. StewartOn the basis of the investigation undertaken by Ayrshire and Arran health board and the discussions which the Scottish Office Home and Health Department has had with that board, I am satisfied that there is no cause for concern in relation to the incidence of upper limb reduction defects in the board's area. Since there was no evidence of clustering and the numbers recorded in Ayrshire and Arran were not significantly1060W different from those in other parts of Scotland, the health board saw no need for contact with the General Register Office for Scotland or the Medical Research Council.
Since 1988, the information and statistics division of the Common Services Agency of the NHS in Scotland has collected and published data on the incidence of congenital anomalies discovered by the end of the first year of life. Data sources include the neonatal discharge record, information from the Scottish stillbirth and neonatal death inquiry, post-neonatal death certificates and admissions to hospital in the first year of life.
The table shows the number of reduction deformities of limbs which occurred in children born in each health board area from 1986 to 1992.
1986 Upper limb Lower limb Unspecified limb Argyll and Clyde — — — Ayrshire and Arran — — 1 Borders — — — Dumfries and Galloway — — — Fife 2 2 1 Forth Valley — 1 — Grampian 3 2 1 Glasgow 3 — 1 Highland — 1 — Lanarkshire 2 — 1 Lothian 2 4 1 Tayside 1 1 2 Scotland 13 11 8
1987 Upper limb Lower limb Unspecifiea limb Argyll and Clyde — — — Ayrshire and Arran 2 — — Borders — — — Dumfries and Galloway 1 — — Fife 1 — 1 Forth Valley 1 — — Grampian 3 3 — Glasgow 3 — 1 Highland 3 — 1 Lanarkshire — — 1 Lothian 2 — 1 Tayside 1 1 1 Scotland 16 4 5 1061W
1988 Upper limb Lower limb Unspecified limb Argyll and Clyde 2 — — Ayrshire and Arran 3 1 2 Borders 1 — — Dumfries and Galloway — — 1 Fife 2 3 — Forth Valley 1 — 1 Grampian 3 1 — Glasgow 1 1 — Highland — — — Lanarkshire 1 — 1 Lothian 1 — — Tayside 1 — — Scotland 16 6 5
1989 Upper limb Lower limb Unspecified limb Argyll and Clyde 3 — — Ayrshire and Arran 1 1 — Borders — — — Dumfries and Galloway — — — Fife 1 — 2 Forth Valley — — — Grampian 3 2 — Glasgow 2 1 — Highland 2 — — Lanarkshire 2 — — Lothian 1 2 1 Tayside — — — Scotland 15 6 3
1990 Upper limb Lower limb Unspecified limb Argyll and Clyde 1 1 — Ayrshire and Arran 1 — — Borders — — — Dumfries and Galloway — — — Fife — — 2 Forth Valley — — — Grampian 3 2 — Glasgow 1 2 — Highland — 1 — Lanarkshire 1 — — Lothian 1 — — Tayside 2 — — Scotland 10 6 2
1991 Upper limb Lower limb Unspecified limb Argyll and Clyde — 2 — Ayrshire and Arran 3 1 — Borders 2 — — Dumfries and Galloway — 1 — Fife 1 1 1 Forth Valley 1 1 1 Grampian 5 2 — Glasgow 3 1 1 Highland — — — Lanarkshire 2 — — Lothian 2 3 1 Tayside 3 — — Scotland 22 12 4 1062W
1992 Upper limb Lower limb Unspecified limb Argyll and Clyde 1 — — Ayrshire and Arran — — 1 Borders — — — Dumfries and Galloway — — — Fife 1 — 1 Forth Valley — — 1
1992 Upper limb Lower limb Unspecified limb Grampian 1 1 — Glasgow 2 — — Highland — — 1 Lanarkshire 3 1 1 Lothian 1 2 1 Tayside — — — Scotland 9 4 6 Source:—
1986, 1987,1992–SMR 11 neonatal record
1988, 1989,1990,1991—congenital register.