§ Mrs. Renée Shortasked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) if he will make a statement on the shortage of psychiatrists and male psychiatric nurses in the West Midlands area;
(2) how many psychiatrists and male psychiatric nurses are employed in the West Midlands areas; how many are estimated to be needed; what steps he will take to encourage recruitment.
§ Dr. VaughanAt 30 September 1979, the latest date for which complete information is available for medical staff, there was a total of 136.2 whole-time equivalent (wte) consultant psychiatrists There are 6.5 wte posts vacant now, and employed in the West Midlands region. an estimated overall deficiency of 32.5 posts. It is for the West Midlands regional health authority to make appointments.
At 31 December 1979, the latest date for which complete information is available for nursing staff, there was a total of 1919.2 wte male psychiatric nursing staff, inculding auxiliaries and nurses in training, in the West Mldiands region. Of these 1455.8 were in mental illness and 463.4 in mental handicap. For mental illness, it is not possible to estimate separately the number of male nursing staff needed, although the overall shortage was 172. For mental handicap, reliable estimates of the shortfall cannot be made. The West Midlands regional health authority recognises that there is a need to encourage recruits, particularly men, to enter training, but recruitment has been difficult.
My right hon. Friend has no plans to to make extra resources available specifically for these specialities.