§ Mrs. Helen ClarkTo ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what estimate he has made of the effect on(a) numbers of beds available and (b) other resources of women having home births; [187556]
(2) what assessment he has made of the relative costs of an uncomplicated natural delivery at home and an uncomplicated natural delivery in hospital; and what assessment has been made in respect of individual hospitals. [187557]
§ Dr. LadymanThe proportion of deliveries that takes place at home has been around 2 per cent. since 1995, having risen from less than 1 per cent. in the late 1980s. This is so small that it will have little effect on the availability of hospital maternity beds. The resource implications of women having home births will vary and are a matter for local national health service bodies.
We have not made any assessment of the costs of deliveries in respect of any individual hospital. The average overall cost of a hospital and home birth normal delivery without complications or co-morbidities is shown in the table.
1362W
Type of delivery Number1 Average cost (£) Non-elective in-patient (hospital births) 314,683 817 Day case (hospital birth) 1,071 386 Community midwifery services (home births) 6,855 541 1 Data source: reference costs 2003 data (relating to financial year 2002–03), as published in appendix SRC1 of the "Payment by Results Core Tools 2004" document (Department of Health).