§ Mrs. Knightasked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) what is his estimate of the percentage of a nurse's time which is spent in nursing;
(2) what is the estimate off the percentage of a nurse's time which is spent in nursing after 5 p.m. daily throughout the week and between 12 noon on Saturdays and 9 a.m. Mondays.
§ Dr. John DunwoodyI regret that it is not practicable to make such estimates. The percentage of time a nurse spends in nursing, whether at particular hours or altogether, varies with the grade of nurse, the type of ward, the type of hospital and many other factors.
§ Mrs. Knightasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what were the figures of entry to the nursing profession in each of the years 1962 to 1969, inclusive.
§ Dr. John DunwoodyThe numbers of admissions to the General Nursing Council's indexes of Student and Pupil Nurses, including readmissions after previous discontinuance of training, were:
During year ended Students Pupils Total 31 st March, 1962 21,333 4,498 25,831 31st March, 1963 21,978 5,893 27,871 31st March, 1964 19,648 5,884 25,532 31st March, 1965 20,770 7,131 27,901 31st March, 1966 21,087 8,787 29,874 31st March, 1967 20,538 10,487 31,025 31st March, 1968 19,301 11,756 31,057 31st March, 1969 17,798 12,067 29,865
§ Mrs. Knightasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what plans he has for a general re-structure of nurses' pay.
§ Mr. CrossmanThe current negotiations in the Nurses and Midwives Whitley Council cover the structure as well as the level of nurses' pay.