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General Ophthalmic Services, Workforce statistics, England and Wales - 31 December 2004
- Publication Date:
- 31 Aug 2005
- Date Range:
- 01 Jan 1993 to 31 Dec 2004
Summary
The tables in this publication show the number of optometrists and ophthalmic medical practitioners (OMPs) who held contracts with Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) in England and Local Health Boards (LHBs) in Wales to carry out NHS sight tests at 31 December 2004. Some of this year's overall figures may have been slightly affected by changes in data collection methodology and the introduction of the new Ophthalmics Regulations in April 2005.
Highlights
The total number of practitioners increased by 1.8% from 8,762 at 31 December 2003 to 8,920 at 31 December 2004.
The number of optometrists increased by 2.3% from 8,140 to 8,328 while the number of OMPs decreased by 4.8% from 622 to 592
Just less than half (49%) of the practitioners in England and Wales held a contract with more than one PCT/LHB at 31 December 2004.
At 31 December 2004, female practitioners represented 44% of the overall total (46% of optometrists and 17% of OMPs). The overall percentage (44%) has risen steadily from 37% in 1994.
The number of practitioners' premises was up by 0.6% on last year, from 6,552 in 2003 to 6,604 in 2004.