§ 14. Mr. Marlowasked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he has any targets for productivity in the National Health Service.
§ Mr. Kenneth ClarkeIncreases in productivity, to make the most of past and planned increases in resources, are a central part of Government policy towards the NHS. We have not set a national target figure, but specific objectives for individual authorities are set through annual accountability reviews. Those agreed by Ministers with regional health authorities are recorded in the regional action plans, of which copies are placed in the Library of the House.
§ Mr. MarlowCan my hon. and learned Friend explain why it is that, at a time of large increases in productivity within the wealth-producing sector of the economy, the number of people employed by the Health Service over the past 20 years has gone up by 750,000 and the number of people required to service one hospital bed has trebled? Can my hon. and learned Friend say what the Government will do, and do urgently, to stop the country from sweeping money into a hole in the ground known as the Health Service?
§ Mr. ClarkeWith respect to my hon. Friend, the Health Service is a person-to-person service, so that when one improves the service one inevitably increases the numbers of some employees. It is also the case that we look not at staff per bed but at staff per patient. As we increase the use to which beds are put, more patients are treated by fewer staff even though this is not reflected in the number of beds. Having said that, I accept my hon. Friend's point that much more could be done to improve the efficiency with which manpower is used in the National Health Service. Our first modest steps towards 830 this end attracted some controversy earlier this year, but I think it is essential that we press on in that direction if the patient is to get the full benefit from the extra resources the Government are putting in.