§ Mr. Kilroy-Silkasked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many persons require the services of a speech therapist in (a) St. Helens with Knowsley (b) Surrey (c) Berkshire (d) Kent and (e) Hertfordshire.
§ Mr. Alfred MorrisI regret that neither this information nor numbers on waiting lists are available to my Department. My hon. Friend may wish to know that there are no generally agreed criteria for measuring need and that there are many conditions for which the value of speech therapy is still being explored.
§ Mr. Kilroy-Silkasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what steps she is taking to make more evenly distributed the services of full-time speech therapists, in view of the fact that St. Helens with Knowsley Regional Health Authority has 0.2 full-time speech therapist equivalents and Surrey 35.6.
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§ Mr. Alfred MorrisI regret that there are wide disparities between the numbers of speech therapists employed in the National Health Service in different parts of the country. The main national priority is to improve the supply of qualified therapists from whom individual area health authorities can recruit, and this is being achieved. My hon. Friend may like to know that, since the date of the last published information, the whole-time equivalent employed by St. Helens with Knowsley Area Health Authority has increased to 1.2. The Authority is currently advertising for an area speech therapist who will be asked to make recommendations on an appropriate establishment.