§ Mr. BoyesTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Services what is the present ratio of administration to beds in(a) the Northern regional health authority and (b) the Sunderland district health authority; and what percentage change has taken place in these two health authorities over the past eight years.
§ Mrs. Currie[holding answer 7 March 1988]: Such information as is available is shown in the tables. Because of the 1982 NHS reorganisation, figures for district health authorities on a consistent basis are not held centrally for
40WHealth Service category, working with psychogeriatric patients in the Central Nottinghamshire health authority area for each year from 1979 to 1987, inclusive.
(2) if he will give the levels of staff, by National Health Service category, working with geriatric patients in the Central Nottinghamshire health authority area for each year from 1979 to 1987, inclusive.
(3) if he will give the levels of staff, by National Health Service category, working with mentally handicapped patients in the Central Nottinghamshire health authority area for each year from 1979 to 1987, inclusive.
(4) if he will give the levels of staff, by National Health Service category, working with mentally ill patients in the Central Nottinghamshire health authority area for each year from 1979 to 1987, inclusive.
§ Mrs. Currie[holding answer 15 January 1988]The table shows medical and nursing staff employed in the Central Nottinghamshire district health authority, who were recorded as working in the geriatric, mental handicap and mental illness areas of work. Staff working with pschogeriatric patients are included within the total figures for mental illness. Staff within other NHS staff groups cannot be identified as working with specific types of patient.
The table gives staff employed for each year from 1982 to 1986 inclusive. Figures for 1987 are not yet available to this level of detail. Figures prior to 1982 are not available on a comparable basis with those given in the table, due to the effects of the 1982 NHS reorganisation.
the years prior to 1982. For comparison purposes, figures for the Northern regional health authority are given for the same years as for Sunderland district health authority.
Administrative and clerical staff cover a wide range of health services activity, not just those related to hospital bed provision. Staff in post figures are a "snapshot" on 30 September, whereas average daily available beds are a daily count averaged over a full calendar year. For these reasons any staff in-post/beds ratio would be crude and might be misleading.
41W
National Health Service administrative and clerical staff1 in post at 30 September Whole-time equivalents2 Year Northern RHA Sunderland DHA 1982 6,090 570 1986 6,260 630 Percentage change3 1982 to 1986 +2.8 +9.9 Source: DHSS annual census of National Health Service non-medical manpower. 1 Includes general managers. 2 Figures have been independently rounded to the nearest ten (10) whole-time equivalents. 3 Percentage calculated on un-rounded figures.
Average daily available beds in National Health Service hospitals 1982 1986 Percentage change Northern RHA 24,679 23,239 -5.8 Sunderland DHA 2,338 2,273 -2.8 Over this period the number of patients treated has increased, as follows:
Total in-patients treated 1982 1986 Percentage change Northern RHA 376,067 441,095 +17.3 Sunderland DHA 45,559 48,820 +7.2