§ Mr. Jim Marshallasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will publish in the Official Report the total number of people employed in the National Health Service, giving a breakdown of the total number into job categories such as nurses, doctors, hospital porters and administrators on 4 May.
§ Mr. Patrick JenkinThe information requested is in the attached table. The figures are collected as at 30 September each year. The 1978 figures for non-medical and dental staff are not yet available.
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NATIONAL HEALTH SERVICE MANPOWER ENGLAND AS AT 30 SEPTEMBER 1977 Directly employed staff—whole time equivalents Nursing and Midwifery1 340,758 Medical and Dental2 33,492 Ancillary Staff (of which porters are 24,178) 172,791 Administrative and clerical3 99,037 Professional and Technical 54,117 Works and Maintenance 25,341 Ambulance Service Staff 17,402 Total (whole—time equivalents) 742,938 Independent contractors—numbers General Medical Practitioners4 22,327 General Dental Practitioners 11,784 General Practice Pharmacists5 9,604 General Ophthalmic Service6 7,299 Total (number) 51,014 1Excludes agency nurses and midwives. 2Includes all hospital and community health service medical and dental staff excepting locum staff, doctors holding paragraph 89 appointments, hospital practitioner appointments, doctors holding paragraph 94 appointments and dentists holding paragraph 107 appointments under the Terms and Conditions of Service of Hospital Medical and Denial Staff and Community Health Service occasional sessional staff. 3Includes support staff managers, but excludes ambulance officers. "Administrators" cannot be distinguished within the general category of administrative and clerical staff as there
is no agreed definition of "administrator" which could be used for this purpose. 4Figures relate to 1 October 1977. Some GPs are also employed on a part-time basis in the hospital and community Health Service and such effort will be included in the total for "Medical and Dental". This implies an element of double counting. 5 Includes chemists, drug stores and appliance contractors. 6 Figures relate to 31 December 1977. The figure quoted includes a small unquantifiable number of ophthalmic medical practitioners who are also general medical practitioners. These persons will also be included in the figure for general medical practitioners which again implies a minor element of double counting. Equivalent figures for 1978 are available for medical and dental staff and general practitioners. These are:—
- Medical and Dental Staff—34,305 (whole time equivalent).
- General Medical Practitioners — 22,651 (number).
- General Dental Practitioners — 11,919 (number).