§ Mr. KirkwoodTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many consultants were employed by each regional health authority in each year since 1985; and if he will make a statement. [7293]
§ Mr. MaloneIn 1985, the regional health authorities employed all medical consultants working in non-teaching hospitals and regional consultants in public health medicine. Special health authorities and teaching districts held the contracts for the remaining consultants. Since the onset of the national health service reforms, in April 1992, contracts have been transferred to trusts as they became established. Only a small number of consultant contracts were held by regional health authorities when they became part of the NHS executive in April 1996 and these were all contracts of regional consultants in public health medicine.
The table gives the whole-time equivalents of hospital medical consultants employed within previous regional health authorities boundaries. Figures on consultants in public health medicine are also given.
687W
Consultants1 in public health medicine by region as at 30 September each year whole time equivalents 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 Northern 30 40 30 40 30 30 30 40 20 10 30 Yorkshire 40 30 30 40 40 30 40 50 40 50 30 Trent 40 40 40 40 30 30 30 30 40 30 40 East Anglian 30 30 20 20 20 20 30 30 30 40 40 North West Thames 40 30 30 30 20 30 30 20 20 40 40 North East Thames 30 30 30 30 30 30 20 20 30 10 30 South East Thames 30 30 30 30 30 30 20 20 20 30 30 South West Thames 40 30 30 30 30 20 20 20 30 30 30 Wessex 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 30 30 Oxford 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 10 10 10 20 South Western 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 10 10 30 30 West Midlands 50 40 50 50 50 50 50 50 50 50 60 Mersey 20 30 20 20 20 20 20 20 30 30 30 North Western 50 50 40 40 40 50 50 50 60 50 50 England total 480 440 420 420 420 410 420 390 400 440 500 NB all figures are rounded to the nearest ten. Due to rounding the sum of the individual regions may not equal the England total 1Includes Regional/District Directors in Public Health. The majority of census data are now collected directly from trusts and health authorities and this has identified some under-reporting of doctors in 1994 and some previous years.