§ Mr. Ralph Howellasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what percentage of people working in hospitals are (a) doctors, (b) nurses and (c) ancillary staff; and if he will give details of the total annual expenditure in salaries or wages to each of these groups.
§ Mr. DeakinsI regret that this information cannot be extracted in the exact form requested without disproportionate costs, but the situation in the NHS in England on 30 September 1977 was as follows:
TABLE 1 Whole-time equivalent staff numbers As a percentage of all whole-time equivalent NHS employees Hospital and Community Health Service Medical staff* 33,376 4.5 Nursing and Midwifery staff† 340,758 45.9 Ancillary staff, including maintenance staff 192,666 25.9 All NHS employees 742,938 100.0
TABLE 2 Salary costs for financial year 1977–78 £ Hospital and Community Health Service Medical staff* 328,402,526 Nursing and Midwifery staff† 1,206,012,753 Ancillary staff, including maintenance staff 650,076,590 * Including locums, staff holding paragraph 94 appointments and hospital practitioners, but excluding occasional sessional staff. † Excluding agency nurses and midwives and community student nurses.