§ Ms. WalleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if he will give details of the national shortfall in occupational therapists region by region;
(2) if he will give details of the number of trained occupational therapists who will complete training in each of the next five years.
§ Mrs. Virginia BottomleyTable 1 shows the percentage of occupational therapists posts in each region which had been vacant for three months or more at 31 March 1990. Steps are being taken to balance supply and demand. These include increasing the number of training places and encouraging and supporting retention and return initiatives undertaken by health authorities and the College of Occupational Therapists. These measures have contributed to the 28.7 per cent. increase in the number of occupational therapists between 1985 and 1989.
Table 2 shows the intakes to training in England and Wales for the last three years, and gives an indication of the potential output of qualified occupational therapists over the next three years.
Table 1 Vacancy levels for Occupational Therapists1 Regional Health Authority Vacancies as a percentage of Funded Establishment Northern 20.5 Yorkshire 14.3 Trent 14.5 East Anglian 12.0 North West Thames 16.6 North East Thames 22.0 South East Thames 23.7 South West Thames 16.7 Wessex 11.4 Oxford 10.1 South Western 7.1 West Midlands 13.6 Mersey 10.6 North Western 11.4 Source: Joint National Professional Manpower Initiative 1 Vacancies of 3 months or more on 31 March 1990 as a percentage of funded establishment.
Table 2 Intakes to Occupational Therapist training1 England and Wales 1988 1989 1990 827 836 872 1 Excludes "In-Service" training courses.