HC Deb 06 March 1989 vol 148 cc416-7W
Mr. Henderson

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was(a) the number of ancillary staff employed in the National Health Service as of 30 September 1988, excluding nurse auxiliaries, (b) the number of whole-time equivalents in England, (c) the average hours of ancillary staffs by grade together with average pay by grade and (d) the average hours of part-time ancillary staffs by grade and average pay, broken down by male and female for each of categories (b), (c) and (d).

Mr. Mellor

The latest figures available are(a) and (b) September 987

  1. (a) 1 57,3 00
  2. (b)Male 41,500; female 73,500; total 115,000.
(c) and (d) 1987–88.

reasons for these levels; and what steps he is taking to reduce waiting times in Leicester health authority for plastic surgery.

Mr. Mellor

The median waiting time for plastic surgery in-patients treated in 1987–88 in the Leicestershire health authority, other authorities in the Trent region and England is given in the table. Some patients do however wait considerably longer than the times shown, as plastic surgery waiting lists comprise cases with widely different degrees of urgency. Epidemiological changes and medical innovation have led to substantial increases in plastic surgery workloads.

A total of £69,000 has been made available to the Leicester health authority from the waiting list fund in 1987–88 and 1988–89, which has enabled them to treat an additional 350 plastic surgery patients from the waiting list. The regional health authority propose to continue to fund Leicester's plastic surgery waiting list fund project in 1989–90.

Median waiting time (weeks)—plastic surgery in-patients cases treated 1987–88
Weeks
Leicestershire 5
South Lincolnshire 5
Nottingham 6
Sheffield 10
Trent region 7
England 7

Note: Other districts in Trent did not treat plastic surgery patients during the year.