Oral question asked in the House of Commons, by Sally Keeble (Labour). It was answered on Tuesday, 23 February 2010 on behalf of the Department of Health.

Midwives

Question: Is my hon. Friend aware that in Northampton there has been a particular increase in the number of babies born with special needs and that case conferences are needed because of child protection issues? Will she recognise that that is putting pressure on maternity services and will she support the primary care trust in looking into the reasons for that and in providing the support for the care needed for those babies with complex needs?

Answer: My hon. Friend asks about neonatal intensive care and the care of high-dependency babies. In the latter part of last year, we issued a new toolkit to enable PCTs to manage staff and situations better. Again, this is about retaining staff in a highly stressful area.

Secondary information