Mental Health Nursing (Hansard, 14 February 1995)

§ 12. Mrs. Helen Jackson
To ask the Secretary of State for Health when she expects to publish a response to the review of mental health nursing.

§ Mr. Bowis
The chief nursing officer did so on behalf of the Government in March 1994.

§ Mrs. Jackson
In the Government's response, what have they published with regard to recommendations 8 and 20 which suggest that care plans should be developed with the mentally ill on the basis of their needs and wishes and not for the convenience of the service, and that therapeutic units in ordinary district hospitals are often not appropriate? Does the Minister recognise that the serious underfunding of community care for mentally ill people has meant totally inappropriate situations and continuing crises of confidence in the care of the mentally ill which are extremely serious for the future care of people in those district hospitals which are inappropriate?

§ Mr. Bowis
The Government's commitment to that report is highlighted by the response of the chief nursing officer, the most senior nurse in the country, by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State's foreword to that report and by the fact that the Department of Health has been running seminars and 791 conferences around the country, including one today in Birmingham involving users of the service. That seems to be the direction in which the hon. Member for Sheffield, Hillsborough (Mrs. Jackson) is trying to lead us because it is the users and their interests which are important. The report points to that and to nurses having a role in providing information and showing the options to people. With regard to therapeutic centres, that is something to which we have drawn the attention of providers. As for resources, £2 billion this year into mental health services cannot be bad.

§ Mr. Allason
Bearing in mind the review undertaken by Sir Louis Blom-Cooper into the Edith Morgan unit and mental health provision in Torbay in my constituency, does my hon. Friend agree that there is a gap in the current law in respect of people who are a danger not just to themselves but to others and, indeed, particularly to people who provide mental health care, and that it is high time for a review of the law to ensure that there is suitable accommodation precisely for those dangerous individuals?

§ Mr. Bowis
Yes. Sir Louis identified two gaps: first, understanding of the existing law so that the provisions of the Mental Health Act 1983 are used to the full and, secondly, a particular gap in respect of revolving-door cases of the severely mentally ill who might be at risk in the community. That is why we shall shortly be introducing a new mental health Bill which will include a measure on supervised discharge orders. I am sure that my hon. Friend the Member for Torbay (Mr. Allason) will be the first to welcome that and the first into the Lobby with us.