§ 13. Mr. Brooksasked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he will make a statement on the provision of health facilities for autistic children in West Cheshire, with particular reference to the role of Deva Hospital, Chester.
§ Dr. John DunwoodyAccording to their needs such children may receive treatment as out-patients or in hospitals for the mentally ill or for the mentally handicapped. The hospitals ordinarily providing such treatment for West Cheshire are the Chester Royal Infirmary, Moston and Newchurch Hospitals. The West Cheshire (Deva) Hospital does not normally take children.
§ Mr. BrooksDoes my hon. Friend accept that the incident to which I drew his attention recently sugests that the needs of an autistic child can take second place to the administrative priorities in the hospital service? Does he further agree that decisions which affect the futures of such children should be taken only in the light of expert medical advice?
§ Dr. DunwoodyI have written in some detail twice to my hon. Friend about the case which he mentions. I accept what he says, that the handling of these exceedingly difficult cases and the wide range of problems which they present has to be conducted in the light of medical advice and assistance. We are conscious of the special needs of this group of children, but we must be careful not to assume that their needs are uniform. There may be differing solutions for the different problems of different children.