Bloomsbury Health Authority: Funding (Hansard, 4 April 1990)

§ Baroness Blatch
My Lords, Bloomsbury Health Authority has agreed to a service plan for 1990–91 designed to make savings of £ 7 million so that it can clear its recurrent income and expenditure deficit. No decisions affecting the specific services for mentally ill people will be agreed until the authority discusses the district's mental health strategy at its next meeting later this month.

§ Lord Rea
My Lords, I thank the noble Baroness for that Answer. She did not actually answer my Question but said that decisions will be taken at a later date. Is she not aware that the rate of schizophrenia among the 4, 000 or so homeless people in Bloomsbury is so high that it has been estimated that they would represent a caseload to mental health services more appropriate to a population of 300, 000? The population of Bloomsbury is only 180, 000. Is she also aware that this problem is not restricted to Bloomsbury, 1408 although it is more acute there? It is a general problem among inner city health authorities.

§ Baroness Blatch
My Lords, I can assure the noble Lord that the Government are well aware of the concerns he has expressed in this exchange. In fact I can go further than that by mentioning some of the statistics. Thirty per cent. of the acute mentally ill in-patients in Bloomsbury are homeless, which presents a particular problem. I believe that the question is precipitate at this time in that there is a great deal of reorganisation taking place with regard to health provision in this part of London, as the noble Lord well knows. The department is reconsidering its policies in relation to the homeless and the mentally ill. I believe that much of what is being done in the Bloomsbury health authority is designed to produce better, more effective and more efficient services for this category of patient.

§ Lord Ennals
My Lords, bearing in mind the point just made by the noble Baroness about the close link between those who are homeless and those who are psychiatric patients; the fact that London has a very much higher proportion of homeless pshychiatric patients than other parts of the country; and the Question we had last week about the likely closure of the Maudsley Hospital, as well as the beds which may go as regards the Bloomsbury health authority, is there not a case for some sort of funding for London to try to deal with this special problem of the homeless, of which every visitor, every tourist and every human being who lives here is now consciously aware?

§ Baroness Blatch
My Lords, this is an issue which concerns noble Lords on all sides of the House. It is an especially difficult area of provision for the health service. As regards the resources which will go the health service generally, it is not the amount of resources which is important but their deployment. Much of the reorganisation and reconsideration of the current strategy for patients is designed to make better use of the resources. Therefore, in that sense the question is precipitate.
It is worth mentioning one of the initiatives. We are currently exploring what practical steps can be taken to assist homeless mentally ill people to obtain help when they are in need. Moreover, in the coming year we hope to set up an initiative in central London— which was the point of the noble Lord's question— whereby voluntary bodies in partnership with health and local authorities, will provide accommodation for mentally ill people with accompanying health and social support. Therefore, support will be brought in to help them in that accommodation. The lessons learnt in that initiative could be applied not only in London but also across the country in our more urban cities.

§ Lord Ennals
My Lords, I warmly welcome that announcement by the Minister. I particularly welcome the involvement of voluntary as well as statutory bodies. However, perhaps she can tell the House whether some resources will be made available to enable such initiatives to take place.

§ Baroness Blatch
My Lords, I cannot be specific in my answer. However, I can say that there are extra resources and that their application will be interesting. I say that because much of the application will be in exploratory areas to ascertain the most effective way of bringing treatment to these people in London.

§ Lord Ennals
Pilot studies.