§ Earl Russellasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether any additional colleges of nursing have been approved to implement Project 2000 nurse training.
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Baroness Cumberlege)I am pleased to be able to announce that agreement has been given today to the implementation of Project 2000 in 15 colleges of nursing during 1992–93, subject to the necessary educational approval being obtained from the English National Board.
This will bring the total number of colleges offering these courses in England to 64. The approval of these schemes will result in complete implementation of Project 2000 in four regions (Oxford, Wessex, South Western and East Anglia) and will cover at least 65 per cent. of pre-registration student places in the other ten regions.
The new schemes cover the following health authorities:
North East Thames RHA North London Mersey RHA Chester and Wirral Northern RHA Northumbria Bethlem and Maudsley SHA Bethlem and Maudsley South Western RHA Tor Wessex RHA Bath and Swindon West Midlands RHA Queen Elizabeth Yorkshire RHA Humberside Yorkshire RHA Airedale and Bradford Trent RHA Sheffield and North Trent(extension) East Anglian RHA Norfolk North Western RHA Lancashire South East Thames RHA Sussex and Kent Institute South West Thames RHA College to be confirmed by RHA North West Thames RHA Hertfordshire The increased funding for 1992–93 of £98 million brings to £207 million the amount provided for Project 2000 implementation since 1989–90. This demonstrates the Government's clear commitment to the development of a more flexible and autonomous nursing workforce which is better equipped to respond to the challenges and changes of the future.