§ Mr. Gordon PrenticeTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many NHS nurses are of Asian heritage; what steps he is taking to increase their number; and if he will make a statement. [3842]
§ Mr. HuttonThe information requested is in the table.
224W
National health service hospital and community health services (HCHS): nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff by ethnic group in England as at 30 September 2000 Percentage White 85.0 Black 4.6 Asian 1.7 Other 2.5 Unknown 6.2 Notes:
1. Figures should be treated with caution as they are based upon the 76 per cent. of HCHS organisations that reported 90 per cent. or more valid ethnic codes for non-medical staff; comparisons over a number of years are likely to produce more reliable comparisons.
2. Percentages were calculated from numbers of staff expressed as whole-time equivalents.
Source:
Department of Health 2000 non-medical work force census.
The Department has a well developed strategy to recruit more Asian nurses. The Improving Working Lives Standard commits all NHS employers to build a diverse work force that reflects the local community and will measure their progress. The Positively Diverse Programme has generated a substantial series of national, regional and local recruitment initiatives including issuing guidance to NHS employers around setting up diversity programmes in their organisation, widening access to nurse training, building networks between NHS work force confederation and higher education institutes, and addressing selection to and attrition from training. Early results from the national recruitment campaign suggest that around 3.5 per cent. of the people who responded to the campaign identified themselves as Asian.