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24 May 2004 : Column 1384W—continued
NHS Recruitment
Mr. Baron:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many and what percentage of healthcare workers from overseas who have been granted work permits were employed by (a) the NHS and (b) the private
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health sector for their first job on entering the United Kingdom in each of the last five years for which figures are available. [170665]
Mr. Browne [holding answer 4 May 2004]: I have been asked to reply.
The structure of the Work Permits (UK) database and record storage facilities does not allow for a breakdown of the number of work permits awarded to healthcare workers by employer type, i.e. in NHS or private healthcare sector. This information therefore can only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
Midwives/Nurses
Mr. Hurst: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many midwives were employed in the national health service in each year from 1974 to 2003. [173637]
Mr. Hutton: The information requested is shown in the table.
| Whole-time equivalent | Headcount | |
|---|---|---|
| 2003 | 18,444 | 23,941 |
| 2002 | 18,119 | 23,249 |
| 2001 | 18,048 | 23,075 |
| 2000 | 17,662 | 22,572 |
| 1999 | 17,876 | 22,799 |
| 1998 | 18,168 | 22,841 |
| 1997 | 18,053 | 22,385 |
| 1996 | 18,262 | 22,595 |
| 1995(34) | 18,034 | 22,022 |
| 1994 | 19,291 | 23,050 |
| 1993 | 19,554 | 23,353 |
| 1992 | 20,283 | 24,020 |
| 1991 | 19,685 | 23,368 |
| 1990 | 19,897 | 23,143 |
| 1989 | 19,213 | 22,391 |
| 1988 | 19,290 | 22,319 |
| 1987 | 19,312 | 22,117 |
| 1986 | 18,850 | 21,549 |
| 1985 | 18,431 | 21,067 |
| 1984 | 17,820 | 20,438 |
| 1983 | 17,309 | 19,814 |
| 1982(35) | 16,268 | 18,439 |
| 1981 | 12,743 | 14,763 |
| 1980 | 13,056 | 15,209 |
| 1979 | 12,525 | 14,617 |
| 1978 | 12,115 | 14,078 |
| 1977 | 12,277 | 14,192 |
| 1976 | 12,248 | 14,144 |
| 1975 | 11,380 | 13,311 |
| 1974 | 10,562 | 12,300 |
(34) A new system of occupation coding for NHS non-medical staff was introduced in 1995. The new codes classify staff according to what they do rather than the terms and conditions under which they are employed i.e. national pay scales. Figures based on new occupation codes are not directly comparable with those based on the old pay scale classification. Therefore figures since 1995 are not comparable with earlier years.
(35) From 1982 onwards data are taken from the Department of Health Non-Medical Workforce Census. Prior to 1982 data are taken from the Health and Personal Social Services Statistics for England (HPSSS). Data from HPSSS contains hospital-based staff only and is therefore not directly comparable with later years.
Notes:
Figures are rounded to the nearest whole number.
All figures exclude learners and agency staff.
Sources:
Department of Health Non-Medical Workforce Census.
Health and Personal Social Services Statistics for England (HPSSS).
24 May 2004 : Column 1386W
Dr. Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many nurses have (a) entered and (b) completed training since 1997; and how many of those have (i) been recruited into the national health service and (ii) are still working in the national health service. [174105]
Mr. Hutton: Information on the number of nurses and midwives entering training each year since 1997 is shown in the table.
| Headcount | |
|---|---|
| 1996–97 | 14,984 |
| 1997–98 | 16,539 |
| 1998–99 | 17,689 |
| 1999–2000 | 18,707 |
| 2000–01 | 20,021 |
| 2001–02 | 21,770 |
| 2002–03 | 22,956 |
Source:
Quarterly Monitoring Reports.
Information on the number of nurses who complete training each year was collected by the English National Board for Nursing, until its abolition in March 2002 with the creation of the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC). The latest complete information is only available for the 1997–98 cohort of nursing and midwifery students, of whom 72 per cent. had completed training by October 2001.
Information is not collected centrally on the number of nurses completing training recruited into the national health service or still working in the NHS. The NMC holds information on the number of nurses and midwives initially entering the register, a pre-requisite for employment in the NHS and other sectors in the United Kingdom. This information can be found on the NMC website at www.nmc-uk.org.
Between 1997 and 2003, there has been a net increase of 67,503 qualified nurses employed in the NHS.
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what action is being taken to increase the input of front-line nurses into departmental policy formation. [173737]
Ms Rosie Winterton: Frontline nurses contribute directly to policy development as individual members of working groups, policy boards and clinical advisory networks. They also contribute though their national health service trusts, modernisation programmes and professional organisations which meet regularly with the Chief Nursing Officer (CNO). The contribution of frontline nurses to policy is being increased by engaging the new strategic health authority lead nurses, greater use of electronic communication, visits to the NHS by Ministers and officials and linking modernisation programmes to policy work.
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of nursing students withdrew from university courses in each of the past five years. [173766]
Mr. Hutton:
Information for England on the percentage of pre-registration student nurses who have left their university course is shown in the following table. The recently received attrition data for the
24 May 2004 : Column 1387W
2002–03 academic year administered by the Higher Education Statistics Agency is in the process of being analysed.
| Percentage withdrawn | |
|---|---|
| 1996–1997 | 20.38 |
| 1997–1998 | 20.16 |
| 1998–1999 | 18.16 |
| 1999–2000 | 13.44 |
| 2000–2001 | 6.21 |
Note:
This data is based on a snapshot in time of a particular cohort(s) and therefore each year there will still be students who have yet to complete their course.
Obesity
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many children have undergone stomach stapling operations for obesity related problems in each of the last five years; [172587]
(2) how many adults have undergone stomach stapling operations in each of the last five years. [172589]
Mr. Hutton [holding answer 11 May 2004]: The table shows the number of finished admission episodes for stomach stapling operations performed on adults over the last five years. No children had stomach stapling operations in relation to obesity during the time period.
| Children: 0–18 years | Adults: 19 years and over | |
|---|---|---|
| 1998–99 | 0 | 4 |
| 1999–2000 | 0 | 12 |
| 2000–01 | 0 | 14 |
| 2001–02 | 0 | 10 |
| 2002–03 | 0 | 6 |
Source:
Department of Health, Hospital Episode Statistics.
Opticians
Dr. Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether his Department plans to offer financial support to the compulsory continued education and training programmes for (a) opticians and (b) dispensing opticians. [171045]
24 May 2004 : Column 1388W
Ms Rosie Winterton: As part of a three-year agreement on fees for sight-tests under the general ophthalmic services (GOS), the Department has agreed to make a financial contribution towards the costs of continuing education and training. These arrangements cover optometrists who are obliged to undertake continuing education to maintain their registration with the General Optical Council and also those ophthalmic medical practitioners who undertake no professional work other than conducting sight tests and who are also obliged to undertake continuing education as part of the registration requirements of the General Medical Council.
Under the terms of the three-year sight-test fee agreement, the financial support towards continuing education has been set at £270 for the year 2004–05 and £425 for the year 2005–06.
Dispensing opticians are not contracted to provide GOS and are therefore outside of these national health service arrangements and were not part of the pay agreement reached with contractors.
The Department is due shortly to begin a review of the GOS and the position of dispensing opticians within the NHS will be considered as part of that review.
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health for what reasons dispensing opticians are not recognised by his Department as healthcare professionals. [172703]
Ms Rosie Winterton: Dispensing opticians are recognised as health care professionals and are regulated under the Opticians Act. Under legislative changes introduced in 1986, dispensing was deregulated and became a private transaction. Dispensing opticians are therefore not included on primary care trust lists.
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