§ Mr. Robin CookTo ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if he will list, for each regional health authority, the number of(a) coding clerks, (b) data entry clerks, (c) other medical records staff, (d) information staff, (e) computer programmers and systems analysts, (f) statisticians, (g) operations research staff and (h) health economists employed by the hospital and community health services;
(2) if he will list, for each family practitioner committee in England and Wales, the total number of (a) coding clerks, (b) data entry clerks, (c) other medical records staff, (d) information staff, (e) computer programmers, (e) statisticians and systems analysts, (g) operations research staff and (h) health economists employed in the family practitioner services.
§ Mrs. Virginia BottomleyThe precise information requested is not available centrally. The numbers of NHS administrative and clerical staff shown as working in computing, medical records, statistics and information, and operational research in each regional health authority at September 1988 are given in the table. These figures will include the staff detailed in the question with the exception of health economists; those for computing staff include additional categories. 1988 is the latest date for which information to this level of detail is available.
Similar information for each family practitioner committee is not collected centrally. Comparisons between regions need to be interpreted with caution. Health authorities will have regard to a number of different factors in setting staffing levels, including the size of the area, population, throughput of patients and current and future levels of service provision.
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NHS administrative and clerical staff in post by regional health authorities at 30 September 1988 Whole-time equivalents1 Region Computing Medical Records Statistics and information Operational Research Northern 108 853 38 3 Yorkshire 110 1,109 66 3 Trent 99 1,552 62 13 East Anglian 66 575 32 5 North West Thames 80 981 52 2 North East Thames 138 1,243 61 17 South East Thames 136 1,075 73 4 South West Thames 90 914 43 — Wessex 71 1,098 74 2 Oxford 96 674 68 2 South Western 154 842 74 3 West Midlands 230 1,628 147 12 Mersey 79 949 47 7 North western 163 1,635 67 1 England Total 2,119 15,451 955 75 Source:
Department of Health (SM13) annual census of NHS non-medical manpower.
1 All figures are independently rounded to the nearest one whole-time equivalent.
Note:
Includes staff at the Dental Estimate Board, Prescription Pricing Authority, London Post-Graduate Special Health Authorities, Family Practitioner Committees and other Statutory Authorities (eg Public Health Laboratory service and the Health Education Authority).