§ Lord AVEBURYasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they will give details of the numbers of patients removed under Section 90 of the Mental Health Act 1959, and the countries to which they were removed in each of the calendar years 1970 onwards; and
Whether they will give details of the numbers of patients removed under Section 30 of the Immigration Act 1971, and the countries to which they were removed in each of the calendar years 1970 onwards.
§ The MINISTER of STATE, HOME OFFICE (Lord Harris of Greenwich)The number of patients removed under Section 90 of the Mental Health Act 1959 (as amended with effect from 1st January 1973 by Section 30 of the Immigration Act 1971) is as follows:
644WA
1970 8 1971 6 1972 5 1973 11
1974 11 1975 9 1976 7 (to 31st October) There has also been one removal, in 1976, under Section 82 of the Mental Health (Scotland) Act 1960, as amended by Section 30 of the Immigration Act 1971. The countries to which the patients were removed were Austria (1); Barbados (1); Belgium (1); Canada (1); Colombia (1); Czechoslovakia (1); Dominica (1); Finland (1); France (2); Federal Republic of Germany (2); Grenada (1); Guyana (1); Hong Kong (3); Hungary (1); Indonesia (1); Republic of Ireland (2); Israel (2); Italy (7); New Zealand (1); Nigeria (6); Pakistan (2); Phillipines (1); Poland (4); Portugal (1); St. Kitts (1); Spain (1); Trinidad and Tobago (1); United States (7); People's Democratic Republic of Yemen (1); Yugoslavia (2).
§ Lord AVEBURYasked Her Majesty's Government:
What information is required by the Secretary of State for Health and Social Services to satisfy him that proper arrangements have been made for the care or treatment of a patient in a country outside the United Kingdom, when it is proposed to remove the patient to that country under Section 90 of the Mental Health Act 1959; and whether, in the case of patients receiving compulsory treatment in a hospital in England and Wales, he is satisfied that proper arrangements can be made in a country where there are no psychiatrists and no hospitals; and
What information is required by the Secretary of State for Health and Social Services to satisfy him that proper arrangements have been made for the care or treatment of a patient in a country outside the United Kingdom, when it is proposed to remove the patient to that country under Section 30 of the Immigration Act 1971 and that it is in the interests of the patient to remove him; and whether, in the case of patients receiving compulsory treatment in a hospital in England and Wales, he is satisfied that proper arrangements can be made in a country where there are no psychiatrists and no hospitals; and
Whether, in considering whether a patient should be removed under 645WA Section 90 of the Mental Health Act 1959, the Secretary of State takes into account the effect of the length of the patient's absence from his country of origin on the effectiveness of the arrangements for his care or treatment there; and what advice he takes on this matter; and
Whether, in considering whether a patient should be removed under Section 30 of the Immigration Act 1971, the Secretary of State takes into account the effect of the length of the patient's absence from his country of origin on the effectiveness of the arrangements for his care or treatment there and that it is in the interests of the patient to remove him; and what advice he takes on this matter.
§ Lord HARRIS of GREENWICHUnder Section 90 of the Mental Health Act 1959, as amended by Section 30 of the Immigration Act 1971, my right honourable friend the Home Secretary may order the removal of any person who is not patrial and who is receiving in-patient treatment for mental illness, provided that proper arrangements have been made abroad for the care and treatment of the patient and he is satisfied that it is in the interests of the patient to remove him. All relevant factors are taken into account and no action is in practice taken to remove a patient unless my right honourable friend is first approached by the doctor responsible for the patient's treatment.
Where admission is to be to a hospital overseas for continued treatment my right honourable friend requires to see copies of the correspondence which the doctor has had with the authorities of the hospital to which it is proposed to admit him. Where, in the opinion of the doctor responsible, the patient is well enough to be discharged into the care of relatives abroad or treated as an outpatient, evidence is required that proper arrangements have been made and that the patient will be met by relatives or a doctor as appropriate, on his arrival in his own country. It is not unusual to find that a patient who requires in-patient treatment in this country can safely be treated in the community in his country of origin.