§ Mrs. BrookeTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what plans he has to increase the number of school nurses. [170370]
§ Mr. HuttonInformation is not available on the number of school nurses employed in the national health service. The Government collected information on the school nursing workforce in the September 2003 non-medical workforce census but this information was incomplete. Reliable information will be available from the September 2004 workforce census.
School nurses are largely employed by primary care trusts (PCTs), and it is for PCTs and care trusts to continue to assess the level of need for school nurses in the context of wider initiatives which impact on the delivery of health services to school age children. These include a review of the nursing, midwifery and health visiting contribution to vulnerable children and young people by the Chief Nursing Officer, the development of the national service framework for children and the work arising from the green paper on children including the development of a workforce strategy covering a range of staff working with children and young people.