HC Deb 29 June 1978 vol 952 cc674-5W
Mr. Anthony Grant

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will list from the latest returns of staff in post submitted to his Department those National Health Service hospitals where there is no ward orderly service available in support of the nursing service.

Mr. Deakins

I regret that this information is not available from the staffing returns made to the Department. The returns for ward orderlies show the total staff in each area health authority; they do not give a breakdown by hospital.

Mr. Anthony Grant

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) what action he is taking to relieve nurses of duties which are more appropriately performed by domestic services and other ancillary staff; and if he will make a statement;

(2) what steps he is taking to ensure that area health authorities make ward orderly services fully available in National Health Service hospitals.

Mr. Moyle

In "Priorities in the Health and Social Services—The Way Forward", the discussion paper my right hon. Friend issued in September 1977, he drew attention to a number of suggestions of ways in which health authorities might achieve more effective use of resources. One of these suggestions was that nurses should be relieved of tasks such as cleaning, washing up and general domestic work and clerical tasks which take them from the bedside, and another was that perhaps more use could be made of the ward orderly grade. However, the detailed day-to-day running of the service is the responsibility of health authorities. It is for them to decide, in the light of local circumstances and the nursing dependency of different categories of patient, what services are to be provided by domestic staff and other ancillary staff, including ward orderlies, in order to enable the provision of balanced and effective patient care in each specific unit.