§ Mr. George HowarthTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what his Department's policy is on the benefits of locating maternity services within general hospitals. [41403]
776W
§ 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 local health authorities, Trusts and communities to decide on the pattern of service provision, taking into account the needs of local people, evidence of effectiveness and available resources.
The Department has set up a maternity and neonatal workforce Group to make recommendations through the children's taskforce on workforce issues and various models for configuration of maternity services. This will feed into the children's national service framework to set national standards of care.