§ Dr. MurrisonTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate his Department has made of the number of experienced senior nurses who are not currently employed and are available for recruitment as community matrons. [184565]
§ Mr. HuttonOur work force modelling takes account of the 200,000 nurses whose Nursing and Midwifery Council registration has lapsed. There are established routes for nurses not currently working to return to the national health service. We expect that experienced nurses currently working in the NHS will fill the majority of the community matron posts after they have received the appropriate training and development.
§ Mr. BurstowTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many nurse training places there were in England in(a) 1979 and (b) 1997. [185967]
§ Mr. HuttonInformation on the number of training places for nurses and midwives in 1979 is not available. In 1996–97, there were 14,984 pre-registration training places for nurses and midwives.