Community Hospitals

Part of Oral Answers to Questions — Health – in the House of Commons at 11:30 am on 23 October 2012.

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Photo of Daniel Poulter Daniel Poulter The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health 11:30, 23 October 2012

I thank my right hon. Friend for that question. We discussed this issue in the Adjournment debate before the autumn recess. He is a strong advocate for his local maternity services. The concern was that only 13 births take place at his local maternity unit every year, and whether staff can continue to deliver high-quality care with such a low number of births. Of course, his local providers will want to consider the rurality of the area and the potential, as outlined in the Birthplace study, of rotating staff in and out of the hospital to support his local unit.