§ Mr. SheermanTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what action she is taking to increase the numbers of doctors specialising in neurology and anaesthesiology.
§ Mr. MaloneConsiderable attention is given to medical work force planning. The aim is to provide an adequate supply of appropriately-trained doctors in each specialty. The agreed policy of achieving a balance, introduced in 1987, is overseen by the Advisory Group on Medical Education, Training and Staffing. This policy encourages consultant expansion of at least 2 per cent. per year. Consultant posts are also funded under the new deal and the part-time consultant scheme.
However, the establishment of new consultant posts is a matter for local employing authorities and they should have regard to competing priorities and available resources.
For doctors in higher specialist training, senior registrar and career registrar quotas set by the Joint Planning Advisory Committee are still in operation. It is necessary to ensure an appropriate supply of doctors, and numbers of higher specialist trainees in any specialty must therefore depend on the best available predictions of future consultant opportunities in that specialty.