§ Mrs. BeckettTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the year of the "Achieving a Balance" agreement; what was the percentage expansion of consultants agreed upon, and the percentage expansion, in each year since the agreement; how many whole-time equivalent consultants there were in the NHS in the year when "Achieving a Balance" was signed; what is the number now; and how many there should have been under the target in the report, "Achieving a Balance".
§ Mr. Malone[holding answer 13 January 1995]: The "Achieving a Balance" agreement was published in 1987 in the report entitled "Hospital Medical Staffing—Achieving a Balance: Plan for Action". It was agreed that consultant expansion of at least 2 per cent. per annum, excluding specified centrally funded posts, should be encouraged. Copies of the report are available in the Library.
The data on consultant expansion—numbers and whole-time equivalent—wte—are shown in the tables. The increase in numbers of 2,580 between 1987 and 1993 includes about 550 centrally funded posts. The average annual increase between 1987 and 1993 is 2.9 per cent., or 2.3 per cent. if centrally funded posts are excluded.
Expansion at 2 per cent. per annum would have implied by 1993, 15,7901 plus about 550 centrally funded consultants, that is about 16,340, which is some 260 fewer than the actual 1993 figure of 16,600. This comparison cannot be made in wte terms, as the wte of the 550 centrally funded posts is not known.
1 14,020 increased by 2 per cent. per annum.
programme for prostate cancer. There is no consensus on the most effective screening method or the best way to treat patients who have a positive test. Until we do, screening may lead to unnecessary treatments, such as chemotherapy and radiation, that are more destructive than the disease itself.
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