asked the Minister for Health if he will comment on the massive increases in manpower employed in the health service between 1975 and 1981, with particular reference to a 47.3 per cent increase in the administration — clerical grade.
Written Answers. - Health Services Staff.
43.
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 clerical and administrative staff increased by about 72 per cent i.e. from 3,428 to 5,891. This compares with an increase for the same period of 91 per cent in paramedical staff and 67 per cent in medical and dental staff.
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.