§ Mrs. FyfeTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) if he will make funds available for the introduction of video monitoring cameras at all maternity units;
(2) if he will estimate the cost of bar-code tagging newly born infants at all maternity units;
(3) if he will consult urgently the Royal College of Midwives on proposals for security at maternity units;
(4) if he will extend the pilot schemes for tagging newly born infants at Edinburgh Simpson hospital and Law hospital;
(5) what proposals he has for introducing better security procedures at maternity units.
§ Mr. StewartIt is for health boards and NHS trusts to consider and implement the most appropriate security measures to meet the needs of individual maternity units. It is for health boards to decide on the priorities for the extra funds which have been made available to them. My right hon. Friend does not propose to consult the Royal College of Midwives on this matter but any views which the college wishes to offer should be conveyed to health boards and NHS trusts. In addition he will arrange for the lessons drawn from the pilot schemes at Law hospital and Simpson Memorial maternity pavilion, Edinburgh to be disseminated.
The cost of bar code tagging would be relatively inexpensive since the electronic tags themselves are cheap, but the main costs would be on the scanning and alarm systems. There are several different types of security systems on the market, but an average cost would be between £15,000 and £20,000 for a large maternity unit.
§ Mrs. FyfeTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what proportion of non-administrative staff in maternity units are part-time or temporary workers.
§ Mr. StewartIdentification of temporary staff and of staff working solely within maternity units is not possible from data held centrally.