Anaesthetic staffing in England and Wales.

The numbers of anaesthetists and of surgeons in the English Health Regions and in Wales as at September 1978, are given in whole-time equivalents per 100,000 of population. All Regional figures are presented as percentages of the national average so that comparisons between Regions can be made. Marked inter-Regional differences are shown, both in the numbers of anaesthetists per unit of population and in the ratios of surgeons to anaesthetists. The pattern argues for a modification in central policy and for a greater involvement of anaesthetists in future manpower planning than appears to have been the case in the past.