§ Ms PrimaroloTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what work previously done by health visitors is now being done by other staff; and which other staff are doing this work.
§ Mr. SackvilleMany routine immunisations are now undertaken by practice nurses, freeing health visitors to target their skills more effectively. Among others, Strelley nurse development unit in Nottingham provides a fine example where health visitors are leading teams and managing patient care.
§ Ms PrimaroloTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many(a) student health visitors, (b) student district nurses, (c) student community psychiatric nurses and (d) school nurses in training there were in each of the last five years, by regional health authority.
§ Mr. SackvilleThe available information is included in the English National Board for Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting annual report 1992–93, copies of which are available in the Library.
§ Ms PrimaroloTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the number of practice nurses, expressed as whole-time equivalents, employed in the NHS for each of the last five years, by regional health authority.
§ Mr. SackvilleBetween 1989 and 1993 the number of whole-time equivalent practice nurses in England increased by 107 per cent. from 4,629 to 9,606. The detailed information is shown in the table.
271W
Numbers of whole-time equivalent practice nurses at 1 October RHA 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 Northern 282 427 502 549 548 Yorkshire 277 570 611 648 754 Trent 464 767 851 929 960 East Anglia 271 443 545 511 551 North West Thames 389 610 681 698 753
RHA 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 North East Thames 279 536 642 701 755 South East Thames 360 657 627 651 740 South West Thames 276 488 545 558 560 Wessex 330 534 677 587 611 Oxford 339 449 492 535 577 South Western 462 683 707 760 739 West Midlands 487 751 827 914 1,020 Mersey 166 333 343 442 391 North Western 248 491 642 638 647