Hospitals (Hansard, 18 July 1988)

§ 9. Mr. Barry Jones
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many hospitals he has visited in Wales since 1 January.

§ Mr. Peter Walker
I have visited two hospitals and my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary has visited four.

§ Mr. Jones
When the Minister makes his visits, is he apprised of the serious national shortage of speech therapists and physiotherapists? Will he dwell on the distress and upset in many homes that shelter within them children who, when in language units at school, do not have sufficient time devoted to their speech defects? I ask the Minister to call an all-Wales conference, to give extra money to the health authorities and to give a lead in helping very distressed families.

§ Mr. Walker
The hon. Gentleman knows that we have increased the number of speech therapists in Wales and the money that is being spent on speech therapy. However, I recognise that this is an important area and that parents feel anxious and aggrieved. I should like the improvement to be continued.

§ Dr. Marek
When does the Minister intend to keep the promise made by the Under-Secretary of State for Wales that by last spring nobody in Wales should have to wait more than a month for an urgent operation?

§ Mr. Walker
I am glad to say that there has been a substantial improvement, unlike the sharp deterioration that occurred in the year before this Government took office.

Mr. Alan Williams
On the Secretary of State's visits to various hospitals he will no doubt have noticed the shortage of nurses. Since the recent review exercise had, as part of its purpose, giving proper pay to nurses to ensure that they no longer left the profession and—equally important—to ensure that recruitment was improved to make up for shortages, has any provision been made to meet the costs of filling vacant nursing posts and, if so, precisely how much?

§ Mr. Walker
That will vary from one district health authority to another, but the right hon. Gentleman must be very pleased that there are at least 13 per cent. more nurses today than there were when we took office.