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Dept of Health

Answer

Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the three-month vacancy (a) rates and (b) numbers were for (i) midwives, (ii) nurses, (iii) GPs, (iv) district nurses, (v) health visitors, (vi) physiotherapists, (vii) occupational therapists, (viii) speech and language therapists and (ix) consultants, by specialty for (A) England, (B) Strategic Health Authority, (C) each NHS trust and foundation trust and (D) each primary care trust in each year since 1997. [209548] Mr. Hutton: The Department's annual vacancy survey, which collects medical and non-medical data, started in 1999. Information on the three-month vacancy rate and number of qualified nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff, midwives, district nurses, health visitors, occupied therapists, physiotherapists and speech and language therapists by health authority from 1999 to 2001 and by strategic health authority (SHA) from 2002 to 2004 has been placed in the Library. Information on the three-month vacancy rates and vacancy number for consultants in England broken down by speciality group and by SHA from 2002 to 2004 has also been placed in the Library. Prior to 2002, the medical and dental work force data was collected on a different basis with regard to speciality and therefore is not available in a comparable format. The Department could provide information by national health service trust or by speciality only at a disproportionate cost. The Department's annual general practitioner (GP) recruitment and retention vacancy survey started in 2000 and began collecting information at primary care trust (PCT) level for the first time in 2003. The survey takes place between 1 April and 31 March each year and is a count of all GP vacancies that have occurred during each year. It will include existing posts that doctors have left and also new posts created to increase the work force, even where they were filled very quickly. Information on the number of GP vacancies in England broken down by SHA in each year from 2000 to 2004 and by PCT from 2003 to 2004 has been placed in the Library. The estimated three-month GP vacancy rate for England from 2002 to 2004 has been placed in the Library. It is not possible to produce reliable estimates of the vacancy rate for GPs at SHA or PCT level. Estimated three-month vacancy rates are not available before 2002.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

209548; 431 c322-3W

Session

2004-05

Subjects

Consultants Health professions Health authorities General practitioners Health visitors Primary care trusts NHS trusts Nurses Midwives NHS foundation trusts Vacancies Speech and language therapy Physiotherapy Occupational therapy Community nurses

Contains statistics

Yes

Link

View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk