§ Mr. SteinbergTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many consultants are employed in North East England; what strategy he has for dealing with shortages in the number of consultants; and how many were employed in each of the last five years. [117210]
§ Mr. DenhamThe latest information about numbers of consultants in North East England is shown in the table.
Overall, there is no sign of a national shortage of consultants, and where there are problems, these are in certain specialties or in particular geographical areas. Numbers continue to rise steadily and difficulties in filling vacancies are not widespread.
At national level we aim to ensure that there are enough doctors in training for there to be sufficient becoming fully trained specialists to meet the future needs of the National Health Service. At local level, it is for NHS trusts and health authorities, who are accountable for the services they provide, to determine the number, grade and 206W mix of staff they require, in the light of local circumstances, in order to provide quality services to patients.
On 6 April I announced plans to train 393 extra hospital specialists. Added to the specialist doctors already in training, there should be an additional 13,000 fully trained hospital specialists in the National Health Service by 2006–07. The additional places will take forward our plans to increase capacity in the NHS, so that patients have easier access to faster, fairer and more convenient services.
Hospital medical consultants employed in the North East of England Headcount At 30 September 1994 880 1995 1,280 1996 1,160 1997 1,210 1998 1,230 Notes:
- 1. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10.
- 2. The North East of England is defined as the following Health Authorities: Northumberland, Newcastle and North Tyneside. Gateshead and South Tyneside, Sunderland, County Durham and Tees.
- 3. Before 1996 some hospital medical staff were employed directly by the Regional Health Authority and so may not be included in these figures.
Source:
Department of Health medical and dental workforce census