§ Miss Herbisonasked the Secretary of State for Scotland what increases in consultant and supporting staff, expressed in numbers of whole-time equivalents and in percentages, are recommended by the committee appointed to review the medical staffing structure of Scottish hospitals; whether he accepts the recommendations; and how long he anticipates it will take to implement them.
§ Mr. NobleThe consultant staff in post at the end of 1961—when the Wright Committee started work—consisted of 513 whole-time and 448 part-time consultants, in addition to 136 with honorary contracts. These figures include about 90 senior hospital medical officers in receipt of special allowances for doing work of consultant status. The Committee's recommendations would involve an addition of about 260 posts, whole-time and part-time, to these figures. It also recommended that normally all part-time posts should be on the maximum of nine sessions; this would in itself involve increasing the effective consultant establishment by the equivalent of about 40 posts. As regards supporting staff, the Committee's recommendations involve an increase of about 250 posts over 1961.
Iam at present discussing the Report with the interests concerned and I can- 174W not yet say when I shall be able to reach a decision on the recommendations, or how long it would take to implement them it accepted.