§ Mr. Nicholas BennettTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list by each health district the number of consultants in each specialty who have merit awards; what this figure represents as a percentage of the total number of consultant posts; whether he has any proposals to change the way in which merit awards are allocated; and if he will make a statement.
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§ Mr. MellorWe do not have information by district readily available. Information for each region of England and Wales and for each specialty on the number of holders of distinction awards is given in the tables.
The working paper 7 "NHS Consultants: Appointments, Contracts and Distinction Awards", following the White Paper "Working for Patients", sets out the Government's proposals to change the way in which distinction awards are allocated, and will be discussed with the medical profession.
Distinction awards Analysis by region at 31 December 1988 Region Awards helpers Numbers Percentage Northern 342 33 Yorkshire 358 33 Trent 440 33 East Anglian 209 33 North West Thames 450 39 North East Thames 619 40 South East Thames 476 37 South West Thames 351 37 Special Health Authorities 343 57 Wessex 293 35 Oxford 272 36 South Western 316 34 West Midlands 503 33 Mersey 260 34 North Western 468 34 Wales 298 34 Total 5,648 35 Note: —Where a practitioner has a contract in more than one Region he has been counted in each, but only once in the total.
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Distinction awards: Analysis by specialty and percentage distribution 31 December 1988
England and Wales
Total awards Number per cent. All specialties: Total 5,648 35.0 Accident and emergency 32 17.0 Anaesthetics 598 29.0 Cardiology 76 53.0 Cardio-thoracic surgery 55 47.0 Clinical neurological physiology 18 32.0 Community medicine 162 31.0 Oral surgery 112 39.0 Orthodontics 46 30.0 Restorative dentistry 33 32.0 Dermatology 85 36.0 Diseases of the chest 54 48.0 General medicine 705 47.0 General surgery 572 49.0 Genito-urinary medicine 26 18.0 Geriatric medicine 117 21.0 Infectious diseases 13 45.0 Mental illness 367 29.0 Child and adolescent psychiatry 79 21.0 Forensic psychiatry 13 22.0 Mental handicap 35 19.0 Psychotherapy 22 25.0 Neurology 96 55.0 Neurosurgery 55 56.0 Nuclear medicine 16 55.0 Obstetrics and gynaecology 325 40.0 Occupational medicine 2 12.0 Ophthalmology 156 35.0 Orthopaedic surgery 269 36.0 Otolaryngology 144 36.0 Paediatrics 269 37.0 Paediatric surgery 24 55.0 Pathology: General 3 50.0 Blood transfusion 11 39.0
Total awards Number per cent. Chemical pathology 75 40.0 Haematology 126 32.0 Histopathology 203 33.0 Immunopathology 22 52.0 Medical microbiology 112 35.0 Neuro-pathology 13 42.0 PHLS only 12 41.0 Plastic surgery 45 43.0 Radiology 289 27.0 Radiotherapy 82 38.0 Rheumatology and rehabilitation 79 32.0