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Health Visitors: Manpower

Volume 461: debated on Friday 15 June 2007

To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what assessment she has made of the trends in numbers of health visitors working in the NHS over the last 10 years; (139227)

(2) how many health visitors were working for the NHS in (a) September 2005 and (b) September 2006;

(3) what work force planning the NHS has undertaken, with particular reference to the future recruitment and retention of health visitors;

(4) what assessment she has made of (a) the age profile of health visitors working for the NHS and (b) its implications for future recruitment and retention of health visitors.

Table 1 shows the number of health visitors in the national health service in England over the last 10 years.

The number of health visitors has remained static over the last 10 years but there has been significant growth in the overall number of nurses working in primary and community care settings in both 2005-06 of 1,039 (1 per cent.) and since 1997 of 29,543 (38.2 per cent.).

Work force planning in terms of the recruitment and retention of health visitors is a matter for local work force planners in local primary care trusts and strategic health authorities as they are best placed to assess the health visiting needs of their local population.

Table 2 shows the age profile of health visitors as at September 2006.

Table 1: health visitors employed in the NHS (England) as at September each year (headcount) and (FTE)

Headcount

Full time equivalent

1997

12,410

10,030

1998

12,570

10,070

1999

12,800

10,160

2000

12,827

10,046

2001

13,053

10,186

2002

12,774

9,912

2003

12,984

9,999

2004

13,303

10,137

2005

12,818

9,809

20061

12,034

9,376

1 More accurate validation in 2006 has resulted in 232 headcount duplicate records being identified and removed from the non-medical census.

Source:

Department of Health Non-Medical Workforce Census

Table 2: age profile of health visitors as at September 2006

Headcount

Health visitor

Under 25

13

25 to 29

274

30 to 34

672

35 to 39

1,402

40 to 44

2,257

45 to 49

2,590

50 to 54

2,126

55 to 59

1,588

60 to 64

672

65 and over

89

Unknown

351

All staff

12,034