§ 16. Mr. Terry Davisasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what reply he has sent to the letter which he has received from the Chairman of the Lea Castle Hospital Parents and Friends Association about the death of John Curran; and whether, in consequence, he will take steps to increase the numbers of staff in hospitals for people who are mentally subnormal.
§ Sir K. JosephI am sending the hon. Member a copy of the reply. Improvement of staffing in hospitals for the 792 mentally handicapped was one of the objectives of the White Paper "Better Services for the Mentally Handicapped" (Cmnd. 4683) and of the additional resources provided. Considerable progress in this direction is being made both nationally and at Lea Castle Hospital itself.
§ Mr. DavisIs the right hon. Gentleman aware that at the inquest this young man's tragic death was attributed partly to the shortage of staff, and that on the night in question there was only one nurse for 41 patients? Is he further aware that the medical director of Lea Castle Hospital said at the inquest, "We are short of staff; we have been short of staff and we still are."? What hope can the parents and friends of patients at Lea Castle and similar hospitals have that there will be an immediate improvement in the staffing situation?
§ Sir K. JosephI am aware of all those factors, but the number of staff in relation to patients has risen sharply since the Government came to office, and at Lea Castle Hospital the ratio has risen much more sharply than the national average.
I am aware that the director of Lea Castle Hospital said that the hospital was short of staff, and still is. He added, "There is no shortage of money. We have vacancies, but we cannot fill them."