§ 8. Mr. Andrew George (St. Ives)If he will make a statement on recruitment and retention of nurses in the national health service. [R][122867]
§ The Minister of State, Department of Health (Mr. John Denham)More than 6,000 extra qualified nurses were working in the national health service in September 1999 than at the same time the previous year and Cornwall has more than 100 whole-time equivalent extra nurses than it had at the general election. The 2000 nurse recruitment campaign has generated more than 45,000 calls and more than 5,500 farmer nurses have returned, or are preparing to return, to the NHS since February last year. Applications to nurse training 154 increased by 73 per cent. last year, including a 100 per cent. increase in applicants from black and ethnic minority backgrounds.
§ Mr. GeorgeI appreciate what the Government are doing, and it is fair to recognise that the problem of nurse and midwife shortages cannot be resolved overnight, but does the Minister accept that nurses are still a long way from being treated on a par with police and teachers in respect of career path opportunities, pay and conditions, opportunities for early retirement and access to pay, training and retraining? Is he happy with the present situation? If not, what plans has he to reform the nursing profession for good?
§ Mr. DenhamMany changes to the role of the nursing profession are either under way or under active consideration as we draw up the national plan. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has made clear his determination for some of the traditional professional barriers in the NHS to be broken down. That will include enhanced roles and, therefore, better career prospects for nurses. We have already introduced the nurse consultant grade—the first posts are being created—and we are also taking action on the working conditions and working lives of nurses and other health service staff. We are publishing standards on family-friendly employment, for example. All health service employers will be expected to meet them and receive accreditation. We are trying to enhance the professional career and role of nurses and to offer more flexible employment to enable the many nurses who have to balance home and work responsibilities to do so more successfully.
§ Ms Rosie Winterton (Doncaster, Central)My hon. Friend has obviously had great success in recruiting more student nurses. Will he assure me that he is giving serious consideration to representations by organisations such as Unison and the Royal College of Nursing on student bursaries, which would enable student nurses who are recruited to be retained in the service?
§ Mr. DenhamIt is clearly important that we do not waste the talents of a single person with the ability and commitment to become a nurse. We are therefore examining variations in drop-out rates in universities which provide nurse education, and are also undertaking a review of student nurses' financial support. I do not wish to suggest that we are proposing any fundamental changes to the current system, but we want to examine the details of the way in which the system operates, as raised by organisations such as Unison and the RCN.