HC Deb 10 January 1995 vol 252 cc115-6W
Mrs. Wise

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what arrangements she has made for piloting the maternity contract minimum data set; and if she will list the sites where it will be piloted, who will be responsible, the duration and costs of the piloting exercise and when a report of the piloting is expected to be available.

Mr. Sackville

No arrangements are in place for piloting the maternity contract minimum data set. These will be made following consultation on the content of the proposed data set.

Mrs. Wise

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions her Department has had with the Royal College of Midwives, the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, the Royal College of General Practitioners and the British Paediatric Association about the content of the maternity contract minimum data set; and when she proposes to place a copy of the consultation document in the Library.

Mr. Sackville

The Department of Health consulted widely on the content of the maternity, community and mental health contract minimum data set during 1993, and held meetings to gain the views of representatives of the healthcare professional bodies.

The outcome of the consultations is included in five documents which will be placed in the Library:— "CMDS Volume 1 Overview"; "CMDS Volume 2 Community Health Services"; "CMDS Volume 3 Maternity Services"; "CMDS Volume 4 Mental Health Services" and "CMDS Volume 5 Data Models".

Subsequent work during 1994 concentrated on the community contract minimum data set. As work on the maternity contract minimum data set has resumed, further discussions will be held with the Royal College of Midwives, the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, the Royal College of General Practitioners and the British Paediatric Association.