§ Mr. BurstowTo ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to his answer of 22 October 2002,Official Report, column 259W, on microbiologists, what information his Department collates on the number of microbiologists working in the NHS. [78527]
§ Mr. Hutton[holding answer 31 October 2002]: Healthcare scientists and doctors work as microbiologists within the National Health Service. The Department's workforce censuses collect detailed information to specialty level for the medical workforce but do not record the number of healthcare scientists working as microbiologists.
As at September 2001 there were 570 doctors (400 consultants) working in the medical microbiology and virology specialty, increases of 60 and 40 respectively on the numbers employed in 1997. The information currently collected by the Department does not differentiate between microbiologists and virologists.
The Department's vacancy survey collected information on the medical microbiology and virology specialty for the first time this year. Nationally as at 30 March 2002 there were ten consultant vacancies in this specialty.