§ Mr. Skinnerasked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many district nurses were employed by the National Health Service in 1972 and 1982; and what was the approximate number of patients visited by district nurses in those respective years.
§ Mr. Kenneth ClarkeThe number of district nurses in 1972 and 1982 was as follows:
England Qualified District Nursing Staff Year Whole-time equivalent* 1972 9,535 1982 14,900 * (i) The totals include state registered nurses and state enrolled nurses with or without district training, practical work teachers and bank district nurses; nursing officers are excluded. (ii) the 1972 total includes an assessment of the pre-dominant district element of DN/midwife dual posts, and of the corresponding element of other multi-functions posts involving district nursing. The 1982 total includes all elements of the DN/midwife posts because, following changes in data collections methods, no assessment of the DN element is available. (iii) The 1972 total excludes a few SRNS and SENS who assisted district nurses while the 1982 total includes these staff. The number involved in 1972 is not available but it is known that later in 1970s the total was about 200. (iv) The working week for district nurses totalled 40 hours in 1972 and 37.5 hours in 1982. The number of first treatments undertaken by the home nursing services in 1972 and 1982 was as follows:
England Person Treated (thousands) Year Total At home or residential homes 1972 1,841.4 1,076.2 1982 3,433.1 1,453.7 First treatment is the first treatment received by a patient from the home nursing services in the year, not the first treatment by individual nurses or the first treatment for each separate problem.