asked the Minister for Health if he will comment on the fact that the number of staff employed on maintenance by health boards and voluntary hospitals dropped by 2.7 per cent between 1975 and 1981, while the administrative and clerical numbers increased by 47.3 per cent in the same period.
Written Answers. - Health Board Maintenance Employees.
208.
On the basis of staff censuses carried out in 1974 and 1981 the total staff employed in the health boards and voluntary hospitals increased in that period by about 46 per cent, i.e. from 39,792 to 58,030. In the same period maintenance staff increased by about 26 per cent, i.e. from 1,861 to 2,337 and clerical and administrative staff increased by about 72 per cent., i.e. from 3,428 to 5,891.
The growth in numbers employed reflects the rate of development in the services in the period. The majority of staff employed in the clerical and administrative category are engaged in work directly related to patient care in both the hospitals and in the community. There was no census of health staff carried out in 1975.