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8 Sept 2003 : Column 243W—continued
NHS Whistleblowers
Mr. Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many whistleblowers have been suspended from work within the NHS as a result of allegations and complaints in the last 12 months; [127482]
- (2) how many staff within the NHS have been suspended from work as a result of allegations by whistleblowers in the last 12 months for which figures are available. [127483]
Mr. Hutton: Information on the number of suspensions of staff working in the national health service, specifically relating to whistleblowing is not colleted centrally, but may be held at a local level by NHS employers.
The Government expect a climate of openness and dialogue in the NHS that encourages staff to feel able to raise concerns about health care matters sensibly and responsibly without fear of victimisation.
The Department of Health will shortly be issuing new guidance to all NHS employing organisations to support them in developing and/or reviewing their
8 Sept 2003 : Column 244W
whistleblowing policies and procedures. A copy of the policy pack, which has been produced in partnership with Public Concern at Work, will be placed in the Library.
NICE Guidance
Mr. Paul Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he expects the National Institute for Clinical Excellence to issue guidance on wounds and injuries. [127095]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) has already published guidance on the prevention of pressure ulcers, infection control and the treatment of difficult-to-heal wounds. It is now preparing a suite of guidelines on this topic which will be published over the period August 2003 to April 2006. Full details of this work programme and the anticipated publication dates are available on the NICE website at: www.nice.org.uk
Nicotine Replacement Therapy
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to make nicotine replacement therapy available through the NHS. [127680]
Miss Melanie Johnson: Nicotine replacement therapy products were made available on national health service prescription in April 2001.
Non-Executive Appointments
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list non-executive appointments to NHS bodies in the last two years, broken down by political affiliations. [127563]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The National Health Service Appointments Commission will be publishing its annual report in the autumn of 2003, listing the names of all chairs and non-executives serving on NHS boards and giving details of any political activity undertaken. The current overall figures for political activity undertaken by candidates appointed in the last two years are shown in the table.
| Chair | Non-executive | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Number | Percentage | Number | Percentage | Number | Percentage | |||
| 2001–02 | |||||||||
| Conservative | 11 | 6.96 | 40 | 4.42 | 51 | 4.79 | |||
| Independent | — | — | 7 | 0.81 | 7 | 0.66 | |||
| Labour | 31 | 19.62 | 212 | 23.40 | 243 | 22.84 | |||
| Liberal Democrat | 7 | 4.43 | 38 | 4.19 | 45 | 4.23 | |||
| None | 109 | 68.99 | 603 | 66.56 | 712 | 66.92 | |||
| Other | — | — | 6 | 0.69 | 6 | 0.59 | |||
| 2002–03 | |||||||||
| Conservative | 9 | 4.92 | 63 | 5.87 | 72 | 5.73 | |||
| Independent | — | — | 16 | 1.58 | 16 | 1.35 | |||
| Labour | 43 | 23.50 | 125 | 11.64 | 168 | 13.37 | |||
| Liberal Democrat | 3 | 1.64 | 25 | 2.33 | 28 | 2.23 | |||
| None | 127 | 69.40 | 842 | 78.40 | 969 | 77.09 | |||
| Other | 1 | 0.57 | 3 | 0.30 | 4 | 0.34 | |||
8 Sept 2003 : Column 245W
Nurses
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many nurses were recruited by the NHS in 2002. [127526]
Mr. Hutton: Information on the number of recruits to the national health service is not collected centrally. Information on the number of nurses employed in the NHS is collected in the non-medical workforce census, but does not distinguish between leavers and joiners. Between September 2001 and September 2002, there was a net increase of 17,140 nurses employed in the NHS.
The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) publishes an annual statistical report which includes information about the number of nurses and midwives entering the register. This data can be found on the NMC website at www.nmc-uk.org.uk.
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many of the nurses who are employed by the NHS are (a) set to retire in the next five years and (b) under the age of 30. [127527]
Mr. Hutton: The information requested is shown in the table. Information about the age profile of practice nurses is not collected centrally. The information provided therefore excludes practice nurses.
As at 30 September 2003, the non-medical workforce census shows that there were 346,537 qualified nurses (excluding practice nurses) working in the national health service. Of these 20,309, or 5.8 per cent., were aged 55 to 59, 5,509, or 1.6 per cent., were aged over 60 and 48,774, or 14 per cent., were aged under 30.
| All staff | Up to 30 | 55 to 59 | Over 60 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Of which | ||||
| All qualified staff | 346,537 | 48,774 | 20,309 | 5,509 |
| Nurse consultant | 330 | 8 | 7 | (72)— |
| Manager | 5,784 | 118 | 480 | 97 |
| Registered sick children's nurse | 12,288 | 3,157 | 410 | 94 |
| Registered midwife | 23,249 | 2,038 | 1,495 | 361 |
| Health visitor | 12,774 | 262 | 1,606 | 448 |
| District nurse (1st level) | 12,141 | 497 | 1,227 | 279 |
| District nurse (2nd level) | 1,252 | 43 | 136 | 43 |
| Other 1st level | 255,712 | 41,383 | 13,015 | 3,482 |
| Other 2nd level | 18,450 | 1,268 | 1,933 | 704 |
| Unspecified | 4,557 | (72)— | (72)— | 1 |
(72) Equals zero
Notes:
Other 1st level and 2nd level include staff coded as community psychiatric nurses (CPN) and community learning disability nurses (CLDN) with a specific recordable community qualification.
Source:
Department of Health 2002 non-medical workforce census.
Mr. Dorrell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many agency nurses were employed in Leicestershire hospitals on average in 2002–03; and what proportion this represented of total nursing staff. [127270]
Dr. Ladyman: This information is not collected centrally.
8 Sept 2003 : Column 246W
Dr. Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to increase the number of nurses in training. [127316]
Mr. Hutton: The NHS Plan sets out the Government's commitment to increase the number of nurses and midwives in training by 5,500 each year by 2004 over 1999 levels. Since 1999 the number of nurses and midwives entering training each year has increased by 4,474 to 23,181.
We have increased funding for nurse training by over 100 per cent. since 1997-from £752 million in 1997–98 to £1,517 million in 2003–04. We are working closely with the higher education sector to increase capacity and look at innovative ways to boost the number of practice placements.
Dr. Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what checks his Department conducts on the qualifications of agency nursing personnel; and what assistance his Department gives to (a) hospital trusts and (b) health authorities in checking the qualifications of agency nursing staff. [127326]
Mr. Hutton: Providers of temporary staffing should conform to the principles and standards in the Department's Code of Practice for the Supply of Temporary Staffing when supplying temporary staff to the National Health Service. NHS employers should ensure that they request a declaration of adherence to the code of practice when engaging with a provider of temporary staff. The code states that information relating to the staff member's qualifications, training and membership of professional bodies should be obtained by the provider. In addition, the Nurses Agencies Regulations 2002 require nurses agencies to ensure that full and satisfactory information is available in relation to a nurse's qualifications, training and current registration with the Nursing and Midwifery Council before supplying the nurse.
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many nurses recruited into the NHS in each of the last three years have come from overseas; [127519]
- (2) how many nurses were recruited from overseas in the last 12 months for which figures are available; and from which countries. [127915]
Mr. Hutton: The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) registers all nurses who work in the United Kingdom and it is the NMC that hold the statistics for the number of overseas nurses who are accepted on to their register.
This information can be obtained from the NMC at www.nmc-uk.org
The NMC statistics details nurses that are registered to work in the United Kingdom and not just in the National Health Service. A large proportion of these nurses will be working in the independent sector.
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many practice nurses were in place in GP surgeries in each of the last five years. [127531]
Mr. Hutton: The information requested is shown in the table.
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Between 1998 and 2002, the number of practice nurses employed in the national health service has increased by 2,089 or 11 per cent.
| 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Practice nurses | 18,894 | 19,495 | 19,200 | 19,846 | 20,983 |
(73) Practice nurse headcount information was estimated in 1998 and 1999. Data as at 1 October 1998–99 and 30 September 2000–02.
Source:
Department of Health General and Personal Medical Services Statistics.
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what action he is taking to increase the number of practice nurses working in GP surgeries. [127532]
Mr. Hutton: The Government is implementing a range of measures to increase the numbers of staff working in the national health service, including practice nurses. These include an increase in pay, encouraging the NHS to become a better employer through the "Improving Working Lives and Positively Diverse" programmes, increasing training commissions, reducing student attrition, running national and local recruitment and return to practice campaigns, and supporting international recruitment where appropriate. In addition, we have recently developed a dedicated NHS Careers factsheet on practice nursing, to promote further careers and opportunities in this field. A copy of the factsheet is available in the Library.
As a result of these measures, there are now over 2,500 more practices nurses working in the NHS since 1997 (NHS Workforce Census). This has contributed in helping to meet the NHS Plan target for 20,000 more nurses two years ahead of schedule.
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