§ Mr. Ashleyasked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many health authorities are having difficulty in recruiting nurses for high dependency areas such as intensive care units; whether such nurses are more difficult to recruit in London than elsewhere; what steps he is taking to encourage suitably qualified nurses to take up this work in areas where there is a shortage; and what effect difficulties in recruiting are having on the services provided by the hospitals which are affected.
§ Mr. HayhoeI regret that detailed information about nurse recruitment difficulties in high dependency areas and the effect they may be having on the services provided is not available centrally. However, I am aware of the results of a survey of a sample of health authorities conducted for the Review Body for Nursing Staff Midwives and Health Visitors which showed, that at 31 March 1985 about 5 per cent. of all whole-time equivalent funded posts for intensive care and theatre nursing staff were vacant for at least three months compared with the average of 2.5 per cent. for all nursing and midwifery staff. The total number of nursing staff employed in these areas of work however continue to increase—by 10.2 per cent. to 16,110 WTEs between September 1983 and September 1984 (the latest date for which such detail is available). Increases in these staff occurred in each region.
It is for individual health authorities to decide, in the light of local needs and priorities and the resources available to them, how many nurses they should employ who have received training in intensive care and theatre nursing and how many trainees they should second to meet those needs. Most regional health authorities have been asked to refine the manpower planning and training components of their strategic plans and in considering these the Department will pay particular attention to proposals for staff groups who may be in short supply.
There are particular problems in London regarding recruitment of nurses but these do not relate specifically to intensive therapy units and theatres. These difficulties are currently the subject of a review commissioned by the National Health Service Management Board.