§ 22. Mr. Thomas Coxasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will review the staffing ratio in mental hospitals.
§ Sir K. JosephAlthough the numbers of doctors and nursing staff in these hospitals have risen substantially in recent years, numbers of these and other staff in many such hospitals are below the optimum, partly due to recruitment difficulties. Hospital boards have been asked to achieve certain minimum staffing ratios as part of programmes to improve conditions for staff and patients.