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7 Sept 2004 : Column 1091W—continued

NHS Denturists

Dr. Pugh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans the Department has to review the role of denturists within the NHS; and if he will make a statement. [187228]


 
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Ms Rosie Winterton: The practice of denturism is currently illegal in the United Kingdom, but the Department is working with the General Dental Council (GDC) to provide for the registration of appropriately trained clinical dental technicians (CDTs). On 30 July we issued for consultation a draft of an Order which, with other amendments to the Dentists Act 1984 to modernise the regulation of dentistry, would give the GDC the necessary powers. Comments on the draft are requested by 30 October and it will subsequently be laid before Parliament for debate under the affirmative procedure. Subject to approval, we expect the Order to come into force during 2005.

NHS Staff Vacancies

Mr. Tony Clarke: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many staff vacancies there were on average in the NHS in Northampton in each year since 1997. [186520]

Dr. Ladyman: The information requested is shown in the table.
Department of Health Vacancies Survey, 1999–2004

1999
2000
2001
Northamptonshire HA (1999–2001) and Leicestershire,
Three month vacancy rates and numbers
Northamptonshire and Rutland SHA (2002–04)PercentageNumberPercentageNumberPercentageNumber
GP4489
Consultant and other doctors (excluding doctors in training)3.309(56)(56)1.203
All nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff (excluding HA staff)2.3761.6572.173
All scientific, therapeutic and technical staff (excluding HA staff)1.092.8263.434
All other staff (excluding HA staff)1.8430.490.49

2002
2003
2004
Northamptonshire HA (1999–2001) and Leicestershire,
Three month vacancy rates and numbers
Northamptonshire and Rutland SHA (2002–04)PercentageNumberPercentageNumberPercentageNumber
GP(57)123(58)48
Consultant and other doctors (excluding doctors in training)1.8055.40477.7031
All nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff (excluding HA staff)3.41162.82811.7192
All scientific, therapeutic and technical staff (excluding HA staff)3.5363.41122.487
All other staff (excluding HA staff)0.240.6471.297




GP information:
(56) 2000 data not available.
(57) In 2002, one HA in Leicestershire, Northamptonshire and Rutland did not respond to the survey.
(58) Vacancy numbers for Northamptonshire PCTs.
Note:
No figures for PCTs are available before 2003 as previous years vacancy numbers were collected from health authorities. Vacancy numbers for each year refer to the number of vacancies occurring in the 12 month period between 1 April and 31 March.




Northampton General Hospital

Mr. Tony Clarke: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) doctors, (b) nurses and (c) support staff were employed by Northampton General Hospital, in each of the last 10 years. [186590]

Dr. Ladyman: The information requested is shown in the table.
Hospital, public health medicine and community health services (HCHS): medical and dental staff, and non-medical within Northampton General Hospital NHS Trust
Number (headcount)

As at 30 September each year
1994199519961997199819992000200120022003
Medical and dental staff (doctors)226241248264283283279293298312
Non-medical staff (nurses)n/a2,6282,6012,5812,7992,8052,8693,0233,1013,366
of which:
Professionally qualified clinical staffn/a1,4111,4141,4271,5481,5051,5291,5531,5401,611
Qualified nursesn/a1,1411,1491,1561,2331,1921,1921,2021,1801,237
Qualified scientific and technical staffn/a270265271315313337351360374
Support to clinical staffn/a8938767668798619019791,0681,280
Support to doctors and nursesn/a7387246167196997287798671,051
Support to scientific and technical staffn/a155152150160162173200201229
NHS infrastructure supportn/a324311388372439439491493475
Central functionsn/a12013012512099107100110140
Hotel property and estate staffn/a145127204193273265315286261
Managers and senior managersn/a595459596767769774




Note:
n/a denotes not applicable.
Sources:
Department of Health medical and dental workforce census.
Department of Health non-medical workforce census.





 
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Nurses

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many overseas nurses are employed in the University Hospital of Leicester. [186625]

Dr. Ladyman: This information is not collected centrally.

Mr. Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many modern matrons have been appointed in the NHS since the NHS Plan was introduced; and if he will make a statement. [186665]

Mr. Hutton: The latest figures, taken from local development plan returns from trusts, indicate that, as at December 2003, there were 3,200 modern matrons employed in the national health service.

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether community matrons will take precedence over senior district nurses in the general recruitment process. [187166]

Mr. Hutton: It is for local national health service trusts to determine their local work force priorities and to recruit staff according to local need and national priorities. The Government has increased the number of nurses working in the NHS by 77,500 since 1997, which includes an increase of 25 per cent. in community service nurses.

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the impact on current staffing levels of his aim to recruit 3,000 community matrons. [187167]

Mr. Hutton: It is expected that nurses with the skills and knowledge to take on the role of community matron will be recruited from a range of community, hospital and intermediate care settings, in particular district nursing. The introduction of community matrons will mean staffing working differently and more effectively and may not always require additional nursing staff.

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the impact of community matrons on staffing levels of social care professionals. [187339]

Mr. Hutton: In order to deliver benefits for patients, community matrons will need to be able to assess patients medical, psychological and social care needs. This
 
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combination of skills is largely found in experienced nurses, rather than social care professionals. It is expected that social care professionals will form part of the multi-professional team that community matrons will work within.

Out-patient Access Targets

Mr. Anthony D. Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the performance of health authorities in Great Yarmouth in meeting out-patient access targets since 1997. [186714]

Dr. Ladyman: Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire Strategic Health Authority's (which covers the health economies of Great Yarmouth) performance on meeting out-patient access targets are shown in the table. The figures for 1997 are not available.
Number of people waiting for out-patient treatment; over 13 and over 17 weeks

March:Over 13 weeksOver 17 weeks
199817,859n/a
199921,517n/a
200019,183n/a
200115,429n/a
200210,797n/a
20035,3661,685
20042,5560




Notes:
1. Data prior to September 2001 have been converted to match current strategic health authority boundaries.
2. Target: achieve a maximum wait of four months (17 weeks) for an out-patient appointment and reduce the number of over 13-week out-patient waiters by March 2004, as progress towards achieving a maximum wait of three months for an out-patient appointment by March 2005.
Source:
Care and health information portfolio factsheet.




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