§ Mr. Barry JonesTo ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) if he will make a statement concerning the supply of (i) physiotherapists and (ii) speech therapists in Wales and the demand for their services; if he will publish the staff turnover of physiotherapists in Wales; how many physiotherapist posts in Wales are frozen; and if he will make a statement;
(2) how many chartered physiotherapists there are in Wales and in each Welsh health authority; how many vacancies for physiotherapists exist in Wales and in each Welsh health authority; what was the vacancy level expressed as a percentage of (i) physiotherapists and (ii) speech therapists in (a) Wales and (b) each health authority; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. GristPhysiotherapists and speech therapists are among those staff groups which have been the subject of detailed scrutiny in the first round of the manpower resource planning exercise undertaken by the health service in Wales this year. As part of the exercise, initiated by the manpower steering group established by the Department in 1986, health authorities were requested to make projections of future manpower requirements, including demand and supply estimates, over the next decade.
A report on the outcome of that first planning round is being finalised, following which consideration will be given to its findings to determine the need and scope for action at the all-Wales and district levels to forestall any projected manpower difficulties.
Information on the number of posts frozen by health authorities and on staff turnover rates is not held by the Department, though improvements being sought in the health service information base should provide capacity for analysis of turnover in future years. The decision to freeze posts is an operational matter for health authorities.
Information on the number of physiotherapists and speech therapists in post in each Welsh district health authority as at 30 September 1988 is given in the following table. Information on the number of vacancies is not currently collected by the Department on a regular basis, but information obtained in the course of this year's manpower resource planning exercise indicates that at the all-Wales level at 30 September 1988 there were approximately 32 (whole-time equivalent) vacancies for speech therapists, representing approximately 5 per cent, and 15 per cent, respectively of the planned staffing levels for these groups. These aggregate figures are approximate only; reliable information at individual district health authority levels is not currently available. Staff in post (whole-time equivalents) as at 30 September 1988: 1014W
Physiotherapists Speech Therapists Clwyd 78.4 24.7 East Dyfed 32.9 14.0 Gwent 79.1 12.1 Gwynedd 46.9 11.9 Mid Glamorgan 74.3 19.6 Pembrokeshire 17.6 6.0 Powys 26.5 7.5 South Glamorgan 142.4 27.7 West Glamorgan 69.6 19.7 All Wales 567.7 143.2