§ Mr. Dobsonasked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he is satisfied with the current state of the school health service.
§ Mr. WhitneyA total of 59 per cent. of the whole maintained school population was seen by school nurses during child health surveillance programmes in 1984 compared with 47 per cent. in 1979, and this reflects the increase in the number of school nurses employed in the health services in recent years. We are, through the community nursing review and other studies, looking at ways in which community child health services, including the school health service, may be improved.
England—Whole-Time Equivalent September 1978 September 1984 Change Administrative and Clerical 100,300 110,300 10,000 Ancillary 172,200 152,200 -20,000 Professional and Technical (excluding works) 57,200 72,700 15,400 Recruitment and deployment of individual staff and decisions on the staff mix are a matter for health authorities themselves, in the light of local circumstances and service needs. Factors which have influenced the changes in manpower levels over the period in question include, the general increase in hospital activity; the emphasis on improved care for elderly, mentally ill and mentally handicapped people; the introduction of manpower targets in 1983, under which health authorities were asked to reduce overall staffing levels and to improve the proportion of staff involved directly in patient care (medical and dental, nursing and midwifery, and