§ 15. Mr. ButlerTo ask the Secretary of State for Wales what change he expects in the number of National Health Service administrators in Wales over the coming year.
§ Mr. GristInformation from health authorities about projected staffing levels for 1988–89 will not be available until the end of March.
§ Mr. ButlerMy hon. Friend will remember that eight years ago the Conservative party manifesto promised to reduce the level of administration in the Health Service. Is it not scandalous that the administrative staff in the Health Service in Wales has increased by 14 per cent. since then, at a time when resources are stretched in the NHS?
§ Mr. GristMy hon. Friend should bear in mind that a large proportion of the administrative and clerical staff are involved in the provision of direct patient care. They are, for example, medical secretaries, ward clerks and health education staff. But the proportion of total costs in the Health Service in Wales taken up by management has decreased from 5.2 to 4.2 per cent.
§ Mr. WigleyDoes the Minister accept that the increased number of administrators certainly has not done much to cut the waiting time for many services, for example, cervical cancer tests? Some people in Gwynedd have had to wait 10 weeks for the result of a smear test. Surely that is unacceptable. The Welsh Office, as the responsible body for the activities of health authorities, must carry the can for that.
§ Mr. GristThe hon. Gentleman will know that that was a regrettable lapse of time and that the target time is no more than eight weeks. His question is not in line with the initial question.