§ Lord Wigoderasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether, in view of their Written Answer of 6th April 1982 (Col. 214) that the information requested about the number of qualified nurses in the independent hospital sector and in industry is not available to the Department, and in view of their written answer of 22nd April 1982 (Col. 694) that the information requested about certain categories of inpatient beds in private hospitals and nursing-homes is also not available, they will take steps either independently or in conjunction with the private sector to ascertain and reveal this information, which is directly relevant to the overall amount of health care available to the community, and is a matter of current political controversy.
§ Lord TrefgarneConsideration is being given to the introduction of a regular return by district health authorities of information about the facilities provided and the numbers and qualifications of nursing staff employed at premises registered under the Nursing Homes Act 1975.
The cost of collecting information on the number of qualified nurses employed in industry, related to the value of that information to the Department of Health and Social Security, could not be justified. Some information on the employment of qualified nurses will be available in mid-1983 from the 1981 Census.