Figures on how many nurses and doctors were employed in the South West strategic health authority area and the South Devon healthcare trust in each year since 1997 are given in the following table:
Headcount 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 South West strategic health authority area medical and dental staff 5,092 5,376 5,484 5,826 6,115 6,575 6,975 7,550 8,031 8,395 8,578 8,944 General practitioners (excluding retainers) 3,185 3,257 3,307 3,363 3,430 3,467 3,587 3,879 4,065 3,955 3,956 4,196 Qualified HCHS nursing staff 29,927 29,966 30,286 31,105 32,671 34,106 35,739 35,342 36,542 36,539 36,754 38,093 GP practice nurses 1,940 1,911 1,930 2,002 2,197 2,355 2,283 2,363 2,449 2,632 2,563 2,504 Of which: South Devon healthcare NHS trust medical and dental staff 283 284 309 309 332 309 322 354 365 374 390 400 Qualified HCHS nursing staff 1,430 1,459 1,492 1,542 1,525 924 927 980 980 950 998 948 Notes: 1. It is highly likely that the drop in numbers of staff at South Devon healthcare NHS trust in 2002 is due to the migration of community-based services during the formation of primary care trusts that cover the South Devon area. 2. GP retainers are part-time GPs who work a small number of sessions per week. They were first collected in 1999 and have been omitted for comparability purposes. 3. Medical and dental staff are doctors that work in the HCHS setting. The title medical and dental refers to the distinction between doctors in medical specialties and dental specialties and is used to differentiate between high street GPs. Source: The NHS Information Centre for health and social care Non-Medical Workforce Census.