§ The Earl of Onslowasked Her Majesty's Government:
- (i) How many doctors and nurses were employed by the National Health Service (NHS) in the years 1979, 1983 and 1985;
- (ii) how many patients were treated in the same years; and
- (iii) what is the increase or decrease in real terms in expenditure on the NHS between 1979 and 1985.
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health and Social Security (Baroness Trumpington)The statistical information requested is given in the tables. National Health Service expenditure in Great Britain increased by 21.2 per cent. in real terms between 1978–79 and 1985–86.
TABLE 1 Medical and Dental and Nursing and Midwifery Staff employed by the NHS in Great Britain (whole-time equivalents)(1) 30th September 1979 1983 1985 (provisional) Medical and Dental Staff(2) 48,000 51,000 52,000 Nursing and Midwifery Staff(3)(4) 438,000 486,000 491,000 Notes:
(1) Figures are whole-time equivalents rounded to the nearest thousand.
(2) Includes permanent paid and honorary staff in the hospital and community health services. Includes locums, hospital practitioners and part-time medical/dental officers.
(3) Includes agency nursing and midwifery staff.
(4) Part of the increase in nursing and midwifery staff between 1979 and 1983 is attributable to the change in the contractual hours of nursing and midwifery staff from 40 to 37½ hours weekly in 1980.
92WA
TABLE 2 NHS Hospitals in Great Britain 1979 1983 1984 (provisional) In-patient cases 6,454,396 7,165,279 7,362,220 Day cases 704,789 967,146 1,065,549 New out-patients 9,171,603 9,827,641 10,059,549 Out-patient attendances 39,861,086 42,732,890 43,483,026 Note: Figures are not yet available for 1985.