HC Deb 19 September 2002 vol 390 cc381-3W
Mr. Wiggin

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps the Government take to promote nursing as a profession. [72444]

Mr. Hutton

The Government are implementing a range of measures to promote careers in the National Health Service, including nurses. These include increasing pay, encouraging the NHS to become a better employer through theImproving Working Lives and Positively Diverse programmes, increasing training commissions, reducing student attrition, running national and local recruitment and return to practice campaigns, and supporting international recruitment where appropriate. Further information on improving working lives is available at www.doh.gov.uk/iwl.

The NHS Careers service was established in April 1999 by the Department to provide accurate and up-to-date information on careers throughout the NHS and to promote nursing as a profession. It has a website www.nhs.uk/careers through which publications can be ordered.

This year's national recruitment campaign ran from 13 February for six weeks and was aimed primarily at raising the profile and the recruitment, retention and return of nurses. Over 51,000 contacts, primarily interested in nursing careers were received at NHS Careers.

Since 1997, the nursing workforce has grown by 31,520. Between September 1999 and September 2001 there was a net increase in nurses working in the NHS of 20,740—the NHS Plan target has been reached two years early. The number of applicants to nurse training has also increased with 40,908 being received in the academic year 2000–01 as opposed to 18,732 in 1997–98.

Dr. Fox

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what action is being taken by NHS trusts to reduce assaults on nurses. [61447]

Mr. Hutton

Significant action has been taken at both national and local levels to tackle the problem of violence as part of the cross-Government National Health Service zero tolerance zone campaign. Many NHS trusts have taken the opportunity to launch local campaigns with a focus on specific areas of concern.

Recent surveys conducted in the NHS indicate that almost all NHS trusts have now published policies for reducing the incidence of violence, and also provide evidence that a wide range of measures are being introduced by employers to tackle this problem. These include the installation or upgrading of hospital CCTV systems, other changes to the physical environment and the provision of safety awareness training to staff. Many trusts have also reviewed the support available to staff when violent incidents do occur.

For the first time ever, new money has been allocated specifically to support the efforts of managers and staff in tackling violence in the NHS. The new funding is expected to be matched by employers, which means that over the three years over £3 million will be invested in new initiatives to protect staff. The money is supporting a range of initiatives from making improvements to risk assessment process to the purchase of personal alarms. In 2001–02, over £791,110 central funding has been invested to support 173 new local measures to protect staff.

Bob Spink

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will collate statistics on the number of(a) British and (b) foreign nurses practising in the UK who carry HIV. [73444]

Mr. Hutton

There is currently no requirement on National Health Service employers to offer or require an HIV test prior to employment of nurses, whether recruited from the United Kingdom or abroad. Therefore, information on the number of HIV infected nurses (of any nationality) working in the NHS is currently not collected centrally.

The Department is considering the recommendations of an ad hoc expert group set up to assess the potential health risk posed to patients by health care workers new to the NHS infected with serious communicable diseases, including HIV. Implementation of any resulting change in policy would include consideration of monitoring needs.

Mr. Nigel Jones

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many nurses were recruited for the NHS is each of the last five years for which figures are available from (a) Botswana, (b) South Africa, (c) Uganda, (d) Namibia, (e) Tanzania, (f) Kenya and (g) Malawi; and if he will make a statement on recruitment from countries with a high incidence of HIV. [72010]

Mr. Hutton

Information on the country of origin of staff working in the National Health Service is not collected centrally.

Tim Loughton

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to his answer of 18 July 2002,Official Report, column 536W, how many of the nurse, midwife and health visitor consultant posts being approved have been taken up by experienced nurses who have returned to the NHS following a substantial period outside the profession. [72838]

Mr. Hutton

[holding answer 24 July 2002]: The information requested is not collected centrally.

The nature of nurse consultant posts demand a portfolio of career-long learning, experience and formal education, usually up to or beyond masters degree level including research experience and a record of scholarship. Most nurses who have had a substantial period of time outside the profession are unlikely to have the relevant recent experience required for nurse consultant posts.