HC Deb 12 March 1956 vol 550 cc19-21
7. Mr. Blenkinsop

asked the Minister of Health whether he will call for investigations to be made into the availability of residential accommodation, other than hospital beds, for confused elderly persons in need of care but not of medical treatment.

Miss Hornsby-Smith

This is one of the matters which my right hon. Friend is considering in the light of the recently completed survey of services for the chronic sick.

Mr. Blenkinsop

Will the hon. Lady persuade her right hon. Friend to publish some fuller information about the whole position as soon as a full survey has been carried out, because there is strong feeling in the country that with more accommodation of this kind a good deal of saving could be achieved at the hospital level?

Miss Hornsby-Smith

The amount of Part III accommodation has risen from 47,000 beds in 1949 to 71,000 in 1956, a very substantial increase. As the hon. Gentleman has heard from Answers to previous Questions in the House, attention has been given to the "care and attention" type of accommodation for those whom it is not desirable to certify but who are too confused for the Part III type of accommodation.

Mr. Shurmer

Is the hon. Lady aware that many of the confused elderly people are finding their way into mental hospitals, which is partly the cause of much of the overcrowding? Has her right hon. Friend read reports about the very overcrowded and short-staffed mental hospital at Hatton, Warwickshire, where recently there was an epidemic and three old people died? These old people must go into ordinary homes instead of cluttering up mental hospitals. I have had experience of this matter as a member of a mental hospital committee for many years.

Mr. Blenkinsop

Cannot the hon. Lady at least say that she will be prepared to provide for the House information about the availability of this special kind of accommodation?

Miss Hornsby-Smith

The whole matter will come before my right hon. Friend, and I should not like to anticipate the results of the investigation.

13. Sir F. Medlicott

asked the Minister of Health the total number of beds in all hospitals and other institutions under his jurisdiction which are occupied by those who are chronically sick, either mentally or physically; and the average annual cost per bed.

Mr. Turton

Information in this form is not available. The number of beds in National Health Service hospitals allocated for the chronic sick (other than mental and mental deficiency patients) was at the end of 1954, 54,121. About 40 per cent. of these were in hospitals classified as for the chronic sick, where the average annual cost of maintaining a patient in 1954–55 was about £377. Separate costs for treating chronic sick patients in other hospitals are not available. So far as mental patients are concerned it is impossible to distinguish between the chronically sick and others.

41. Mr. V. Yates

asked the Minister of Health how many chronically sick men and women are awaiting admission to hospitals in this country; how many are awaiting admission in the Birmingham region; and how many are at present fit for discharge and are occupying beds because they are without homes.

Mr. Turton

On 31st December, last, 946 in the Birmingham region. Figures for England and Wales at that date are not yet available, but the number on 31st December, 1954, was 9,833. It is estimated that about 4,500 patients in England and Wales, and 600 in the Birmingham region, no longer require hospital care, but remain in chronic sick beds for a number of reasons, including lack of alternative accommodation.

Mr. Yates

Does not it show what a grave situation this is, both in the country generally and in Birmingham, when so many people are occupying beds because they have no homes? Is that not a reason for having a real survey to see if more homes for elderly people can be provided?

Mr. Turton

I have not said that all those numbers were due to lack of homes. They are due to a number of reasons, of which lack of accommodation is one. New homes for the aged and infirm in need of care and attention are being continually opened by county and county borough councils. Since the war, about 850 residential homes with some 25,000 beds for the old or handicapped have been opened by local authorities.

Mr. Blenkinsop

Would not the Minister agree that there is an urgent need to impress upon local authorities the desirability of opening further accommodation especially for those who need general welfare and care?

Mr. Turton

I assure the hon. Gentleman that local authorities are very well aware of this need and are most helpful in co-operating towards satisfying it.

42. Mr. V. Yates

asked the Minister of Health how many men and women, respectively, aged 65 years and over, are at present in mental hospitals throughout the country; how many are in the Birmingham region; and what plans are being prepared to accommodate a number of such cases in suitable homes.

Mr. Turton

Fourteen thousand, one hundred and fifty-six men and 31,327 women aged 65 years and over were in mental hospitals in England and Wales at the end of 1954. The figures for the Birmingham Region were 1,279 men and 2,878 women. Regional hospital boards are encouraged to provide long-stay annexes for suitable cases.

Mr. Yates

Does not this reveal really grave overcrowding? Does not the Minister think that this is reflected in the great tragedy which occurred in the Mental Hospital at Hatton, when 45 people became ill from food poisoning and three people recently died? In that case the management said that it was difficult to isolate the sick persons. Is not that a rather serious situation? Is not the overcrowding such that the Minister ought seriously to investigate the matter, in the hope of an early improvement?

Mr. Turton

I am concerned with the amount of overcrowding in mental and mental deficiency hospitals throughout the country. That is why, in the three-year capital programme announced by my predecessor, we allocated about £10 million for this work.