Maternity Provision

Mr. Hancock
To ask the Secretary of State for Health by what means the implementation by each NHS trust in England of the target that by 2009 all women will have choice over where and how to have their baby will be assessed; and what action will be taken against NHS trusts that fail to meet this target.

Mr. Ivan Lewis
The Department is developing a maternity services delivery plan to offer a framework and guidance to support implementation of the Government’s maternity commitment.

It is for local primary care trusts to determine how services are structured and commissioned to meet the needs of the local population. We will be developing tools to support and monitor delivery of the Government commitment.

Mr. Drew
To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what recent risk analysis she has undertaken of maternity episodes that start in an independent midwife-led unit and are then moved to a consultant-led obstetric unit; and if she will make a statement;

(2) if she will make a statement on the latest National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence report on maternity care, with particular reference to risk levels in independent midwife-led units.

Mr. Ivan Lewis
None. It is for local national health service maternity care providers and primary care trusts to ensure that midwife-led care is provided within a framework that enables easy and early transfer of women and babies who unexpectedly require specialist care. As with other options, the outcomes of these types of care should be regularly audited.

The Department welcomes the publication of the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence’s (NICE) draft guidelines on intrapartum care. These guidelines are currently subject to consultation and we will comment on them in accordance with the normal protocol. I am confident that NICE will consider all the comments that are made by the Department in response to its consultation.