§ Mr. Favellasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what were the total numbers employed by the National Health Service in the north-west region in 1978–79 and 1983–84.
§ Mr. John PattenThe available figures are shown in the table. They relate to 30 September in each of the financial years requested; annual average staff numbers are not available.
Total NHS Directly Employed Staff in North Western Region *†Whole-time equivalents 1978 ‡1983 Total NHS staff including agency Nursing and Midwifery staff and locum Medical and Dental staff) 66,800 76,100 Notes:— * Excludes hospital practitioners, part-time medical officers (clerical assistants), general medical practitioners participating in hospital staff funds, occasional sessional staff in the community health services and overseas doctors in the NHS fellowship scheme. † Figures are not adjusted for the reduction in nurses' working hours (from 40 to 37½ hours per week) in 1980 ‡ Figures for bank nurses were collected on a separate manual return in September 1983