§ Mr. Cyril Smithasked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) if he will give details of the percentage increase in consultant posts established for the years 840W 1973–74, 1974–75, 1975–76 and of the number of consultant posts which currently remain vacant; and in which specialities these vacancies lie;
(2) if he will give details of the percentage increase in junior hospital doctors' posts established for the years 1973–74, 1974–75 and 1975–76 and of the number of junior hospital doctors' posts which currently remain vacant; and in which areas and specialities these vacancies lie.
§ Dr. OwenThere is no establishment for hospital posts as such. At 30th September 1973 there were 11,220 medical and dental consultants in post in England and Wales, and a further 580 consultant posts which employing authorities were trying to fill. The corresponding figures for 1974 were 11,600 and 340—total 11,940 plus 1.2 per cent.; and for 1975, 11,930 and 457—total 12,387 plus 3.8 per cent. The figures for vacant consultant posts were collected on a somewhat different basis after 1973 so that 1973 and 1974 figures are not strictly comparable.
As registrar and senior house officer posts are of limited tenure and there is a rapid turnover, figures of vacancies in these grades are not collected centrally. The reported number of hospital doctors in England and Wales in the grades of senior registrar, registrar and senior house officer at 30th September 1975 was 15,150, 7.7 per cent. higher than in 1974 (14,070); this in turn was 3.1 per cent. higher than 1973 (13.640). There is reason to believe that there may have been some underreporting of the number of staff in post in 1974.
The following table gives the number of posts without a permanent holder in the consultant and senior registrar grades in various specialties in England and Wales at 30th September 1975. A number of these are currently filled by locums.
841W
Specialty Consultant Vacancies Senior Registrar Vacancies General Medicine 22 5 Paediatrics 14 2 Diseases of the Chest 9 1 Dermatology 9 Nil Neurology 7 2 Cardiology 1 Nil Rheumatology and Rehabilitation 13 5 Genito-urinary Medicine 3 5 Clinical Pharmacology 1 Nil Geriatric Medicine 28 12 Clinical Physiology Nil 1
Specialty Consultant Vacancies Senior Registrar Vacancies Nephrology 3 Nil Nuclear Medicine 1 Nil Gastro-enterology 1 Nil General Surgery 12 2 Paediatric Surgery 2 Nil Ear, Nose and Throat 9 5 Traumatic and Orthopaedic Surgery 15 5 Ophthalmology 9 4 Radiotherapy 9 3 Neurology 4 1 Plastic Surgery 3 Nil Thoracic Surgery Nil 1 Accident and Emergency 11 Nil Neuro-surgery 2 1 Gynaecology and Obstetrics 11 1 Mental Handicap 16 5 Mental Illness 46 23 Mental Illness—Children 21 12 Psychotherapy 2 Nil General Pathology Nil 2 Chemical Pathology 12 7 Haematology 7 7 Histo-pafhology 12 14 Medical Micro-biology 11 9 Neuro-pathology 1 1 Radiology 46 19 Anaesthetics 67 34 Blood Transfusion 3 1 Clinical Neurological Physiology 4 4 Dental Specialties 8 Not available Other 2 1 Total 457 195 Notes:
(1) The figure of 457 consultant vacancies includes: 182 appointments made, but holder not yet in post; 275 appointment procedures in process or completed without an appointment being made.
(2) There were in addition 292 consultant posts which had at some time been occupied but which had not been advertised during the year.