§ Tim LoughtonTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many nurses were recruited by the NHS in 2002. [127526]
§ Mr. HuttonInformation on the number of recruits to the national health service is not collected centrally. Information on the number of nurses employed in the NHS is collected in the non-medical workforce census, but does not distinguish between leavers and joiners. Between September 2001 and September 2002, there was a net increase of 17,140 nurses employed in the NHS.
The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) publishes an annual statistical report which includes information about the number of nurses and midwives entering the register. This data can be found on the NMC website at www.nmc-uk.org.uk.
§ Tim LoughtonTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many of the nurses who are employed by the NHS are(a) set to retire in the next five years and (b) under the age of 30. [127527]
§ Mr. HuttonThe information requested is shown in the table. Information about the age profile of practice nurses is not collected centrally. The information provided therefore excludes practice nurses.
As at 30 September 2003, the non-medical workforce census shows that there were 346,537 qualified nurses (excluding practice nurses) working in the national health service. Of these 20,309, or 5.8 per cent., were aged 55 to 59, 5,509, or 1.6 per cent., were aged over 60 and 48,774, or 14 per cent., were aged under 30.
NHS hospital and community health services: qualified nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff by specified age bands—England as at September 2002 headcount All staff Up to 30 55 to 59 Over 60 Of which All qualified staff 346,537 48,774 20,309 5,509 Nurse consultant 330 8 7 1— Manager 5,784 118 480 97 Registered sick children's nurse
12,288 3,157 410 94 Registered midwife 23,249 2,038 1,495 361 Health visitor 12,774 262 1,606 448 District nurse (1st level) 12,141 497 1,227 279 District nurse (2nd level) 1,252 43 136 43 Other 1st level 255,712 41,383 13,015 3,482 Other 2nd level 18,450 1,268 1,933 704 Unspecified 4,557 1— 1— 1 1 Equals zero Notes:
Other 1st level and 2nd level include staff coded as community psychiatric nurses (CPN) and community learning disability nurses (CLDN) with a specific recordable community qualification.
Source:
Department of Health 2002 non-medical workforce census.
§ Mr. DorrellTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many agency nurses were employed in Leicestershire hospitals on average in 2002–03; and what proportion this represented of total nursing staff. [127270]
§ Dr. LadymanThis information is not collected centrally.
246W
§ Dr. FoxTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to increase the number of nurses in training. [127316]
§ Mr. HuttonThe NHS Plan sets out the Government's commitment to increase the number of nurses and midwives in training by 5,500 each year by 2004 over 1999 levels. Since 1999 the number of nurses and midwives entering training each year has increased by 4,474 to 23,181.
We have increased funding for nurse training by over 100 per cent. since 1997-from £752 million in 1997–98 to £1,517 million in 2003–04. We are working closely with the higher education sector to increase capacity and look at innovative ways to boost the number of practice placements.
§ Dr. FoxTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what checks his Department conducts on the qualifications of agency nursing personnel; and what assistance his Department gives to(a) hospital trusts and (b) health authorities in checking the qualifications of agency nursing staff. [127326]
§ Mr. HuttonProviders of temporary staffing should conform to the principles and standards in the Department's Code of Practice for the Supply of Temporary Staffing when supplying temporary staff to the National Health Service. NHS employers should ensure that they request a declaration of adherence to the code of practice when engaging with a provider of temporary staff. The code states that information relating to the staff member's qualifications, training and membership of professional bodies should be obtained by the provider. In addition, the Nurses Agencies Regulations 2002 require nurses agencies to ensure that full and satisfactory information is available in relation to a nurse's qualifications, training and current registration with the Nursing and Midwifery Council before supplying the nurse.
§ Tim LoughtonTo ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many nurses recruited into the NHS in each of the last three years have come from overseas; [127519]
(2) how many nurses were recruited from overseas in the last 12 months for which figures are available; and from which countries. [127915]
§ Mr. HuttonThe Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) registers all nurses who work in the United Kingdom and it is the NMC that hold the statistics for the number of overseas nurses who are accepted on to their register.
This information can be obtained from the NMC at www.nmc-uk.org
The NMC statistics details nurses that are registered to work in the United Kingdom and not just in the National Health Service. A large proportion of these nurses will be working in the independent sector.
§ Tim LoughtonTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many practice nurses were in place in GP surgeries in each of the last five years. [127531]
§ Mr. HuttonThe information requested is shown in the table.
247WBetween 1998 and 2002, the number of practice nurses employed in the national health service has increased by 2,089 or 11 per cent.
Practice Nurses1 in England 1997–2002 Numbers (headcount) 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 Practice nurses 18,894 19,495 19,200 19,846 20,983 1 Practice nurse headcount information was estimated in 1998 and 1999. Data as at 1 October 1998–99 and 30 September 2000–02. Source:
Department of Health General and Personal Medical Services Statistics.
§ Tim LoughtonTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what action he is taking to increase the number of practice nurses working in GP surgeries. [127532]
§ Mr. HuttonThe Government is implementing a range of measures to increase the numbers of staff working in the national health service, including practice nurses. These include an increase in pay, encouraging the NHS to become a better employer through the "Improving Working Lives and Positively Diverse" programmes, increasing training commissions, reducing student attrition, running national and local recruitment and return to practice campaigns, and supporting international recruitment where appropriate. In addition, we have recently developed a dedicated NHS Careers factsheet on practice nursing, to promote further careers and opportunities in this field. A copy of the factsheet is available in the Library.
As a result of these measures, there are now over 2,500 more practices nurses working in the NHS since 1997 (NHS Workforce Census). This has contributed in helping to meet the NHS Plan target for 20,000 more nurses two years ahead of schedule.