§ Mr. George HowarthTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what factors are taken into account when planning the future location and size of(a) hospital maternity services and (b) hospital paediatric services. [41402]
§ Yvette CooperThe national health service provides care for women during pregnancy and childbirth in various types, sizes and locations of maternity units, including units within general hospitals or stand-alone units. The Department expects this choice to continue. It is for area strategic health authorities, trusts and local health communities to decide on the best pattern of service provision, taking into account the needs of local people, evidence of effectiveness and available resources. The Department has also set up a maternity and neonatal work force group to consider work force issues for various models for maternity care. Its findings will feed into the development of the maternity module of the Children's National Service Framework, which will be published at a later date.
The acute module of the new National Service Framework for Children will among other issues consider access to appropriate hospital paediatric services. It will be published later this year.