Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the number of (a) nurse consultants, (b) modern matrons and (c) community matrons employed by the NHS in the (i) latest period for which figures are available and (ii) corresponding period in 2009-10.
NHS Digital publishes Hospital and Community Health Services (HCHS) workforce statistics. These include staff working in hospital trusts and clinical commissioning groups, but not staff working in primary care or in general practitioner surgeries, local authorities or other providers.
The following table shows the full time equivalent (FTE) figures for nurse consultants, modern matrons and community matrons working in National Health Service trusts and CCGs as at May 2018 (the latest data available) and May 2010.
| May 2010 | May 2018 |
Nurse Consultant | 972 | 985 |
Modern Matron | 4,825 | 4,085 |
Community Matron | 1,511 | 891 |
Source: NHS Digital monthly HCHS workforce statistics.
Over the same period, the number of all nurses and health visitors increased by 3,122 FTE and nurses on our wards increased by 12,527 FTEs.