§ Mr. Nicholas Wintertonasked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many midwives have been employed by the National Health Service in each of the years since 1974.
§ Mr. Kenneth ClarkeThe requested information is:422W
Number ofmidwives employed in the NHS in England at 30 September Year Whole-lime equivalents 1974 14,186 1975 14,334 1976 15,074 1977 15,318 1978 14,905 1979 15,509 1980 15,828 1981 16,149 1982 16,641 Notes:
- 1. Information for 1983 is not yet available.
- 2. Tutorial and managerial staff are included. Student midwives and agency staff are excluded.
- 3. Figures for 1980 to 1982 are not strictly comparable with earlier years because of changes in the nature of data collected and because they exclude about 1,000 multiple duty staff in each of those years.
§ Mr. Nicholas Wintertonasked the Secretary of State for Social Services which qualifications in midwifery are recognised by the National Health Service.
§ Mr. Kenneth ClarkeThe qualification recognised for practice as a midwife in the NHS is inclusion in part 10 of the register maintained by the United Kingdom Central Council for Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting. The midwife must also fulfill the requirements of the rules made by the council under section 15 of the Nurses, Midwives and Health Visitors Act 1979 regarding her or his intention to practise.
In order to be included in part 10 of the register the person must have completed an appropriate course of training recognised by the English National Board for Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting or possess qualifications obtained abroad which are acceptable to the council.
§ Mr. Nicholas Wintertonasked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) how many students are currently enrolled on courses leading to recognised qualifications in midwifery;
(2) what is the annual intake of new students on to courses leading to recognised qualifications in midwifery.
§ Mr. Kenneth ClarkeInformation supplied to us by the English National Board for Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting shows that in England about 4,200 students were undertaking midwifery training at March 1984. About 3,100 students commenced midwifery training during the period April 1983 to March 1984.