§ Mr. VazTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of(a) NHS managers, (b) general practitioners, (c) consultants/registrars and (d) nurses, by grade, are from ethnic minority backgrounds; and what steps he proposes to take to increase their numbers. [1046]
§ Mr. MilburnInformation about the ethnic origin of National Health Service hospital & community health services managers, nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff and hospital medical staff (including consultants and registrars) is contained in "NHS hospital and community health services non-medical workforce census; England as at September 1995: ethnic group tables" and "Hospital, Public Health Medicine and Community Health Service Medical and Dental staff in England 1985 to 1995", copies of which are available in the Library.
The Department has not collected data on ethnic origins of general practitioners or their staff to date. However, the Department holds data on Unrestricted Principals1 by their country of qualification: 17 per cent. of Unrestricted Principals qualified outside the European Economic Area at 1 October 1995.
Chairs and Chief Executives of NHS trusts and health authorities are accountable for meeting the goals of "Ethnic minority staff in the NHS: a programme of action", the overall aim of which is to secure fair 36W representation of ethnic minorities at all levels in the health service. Progress towards these goals forms part of the "NHS as a good employer" benchmark set out in the annual Priorities and Planning guidance, and the NHS Executive is working at a national level to promote and disseminate best practice.
1An Unrestricted Principal is a practitioner who provides the full range of general medical services and whose list is not limited to any particular group of persons.Source: GP Census.