§ Mrs. Renée Shortasked the Secretary of State for Social Services when he expects to start implementing the recommendations he has accepted from the Social Services Committee's report on medical education and the career structure of doctors which proposed a steady increase in the number of consultant posts and a reduction in the number of junior doctors within the hospital service.
§ Mr. Kenneth ClarkeHealth authorities were asked in health circular HC(82)4 to draw up plans to correct the imbalance between the mumbers of consultants and training grade posts, so far as resources permit. The number of medical consultant posts has continued to rise steadily, the increase in the year to 30 September 1983 being 2.5 per cent. for England and Wales. The rate of increase in the number of junior doctors has fallen from the high levels seen in the 1970s to just under 2 per cent. for 1982–83. This means that, for the second year running, the ratio of consultant to junior doctors has improved, if only marginally.