§ Mr. Tapsellasked the Secretary of State for Social Services, in view of the exceptional shortage of hospital consultants in the county of Lincolnshire, what action he proposes to take to improve this situation.
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§ Mr. MoyleThe allocation of consultant posts in Lincolnshire is a matter for Trent Regional Health Authority. Following my Department's policy to give high priority to reducing regional disparites, nearly one-fifth of the additional consultant posts approved for 1978–79 were allocated to the Trent region, and 54 out of 57 requests for such posts from this region were approved. It is for the regional health authority to decide how many of these posts should be allocated to Lincolnshire.