Female surgeons double their numbers - to 160

Women appear to be turning their backs on careers as hospital surgeons, in spite of a general growth in the number of female doctors in the National Health Service.

The proportion of female hospital medical consultants grew from 13 per cent to 19 per cent over the past decade but figures released today show that only 4 per cent of surgeons are women.

The health service bulletin reveals that women who go into hospital for obstetric and gynaecology problems are still more likely to be treated by a man than a woman; the percentage of female consultants has risen by only 4 per cent since 1985, to 16 per cent in 1995.

The percentage of female surgeons has risen from 2 to 4 per cent. In the whole of the NHS, only 160 surgeons are women. There are also 60 female senior registrars in surgery, about 8 per cent of the total.

Women are also shunning accident and emergency services, and make up only 13 per cent of all consultants in A&E units. But there are clear signs of growth in the numbers of female consultants in paediatrics - up from 110 (19 per cent) to 380 (34 per cent) over 10 years; in pathology - up from 300 (20 per cent) to 480 (28 per cent); and in psychiatry - up from 400 (22 per cent) to 680 (30 per cent). Women also represented 53 per cent of senior registrars in paediatrics and 48 per cent in psychiatry.

The figures may put ministers under pressure to do more to encourage women into the specialties that they appear to avoid, particularly obstetrics and gynaecology where many patients prefer a woman. But ministers will point to the fact that higher rates of women in the junior grades suggest that the percentage becoming consultants will rise in the future.

The total number of female hospital medical staff has risen by 63 per cent since 1985 to 17,000 in 1995. As a proportion of all medical staff, they increased from 24 per cent to 31 per cent. The annual growth of all staff was 2.4 per cent but 5 per cent for women.

Although the proportion of women in each of the training grades has grown substantially, they formed a greater concentration in the more junior grades and higher still - 49 per cent - in entry to medical school.