HC Deb 16 November 1976 vol 919 cc495-9W
Mr. Ashley

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many persons in England were readmitted to a psychiatric hospital in 1975, specifying those persons readmitted for a second, third and fourth time and over.

Region served Beds in mental illness hospitals Beds in general hospital psychiatric units Beds in other mental illness units Ratio of total beds per 1,000 population
Northern 5,969 830 96 2.2
Yorkshire 7,645 501 25 2.3
Trent 7,305 410 29 1.7
East Anglia 3,131 237 None 1.9
North West Thames 8,721 733 81 2.7
North East Thames 6,879 471 10 2.0
South East Thames 8,261 544 45 2.5
South West Thames 8,807 257 None 3.1
Wessex 4,793 87 116 1.9
Oxford 2,810 145 140 1.4
Southwestern 6,270 78 111 2.1
West Midlands 8,824 661 92 1.8
Mersey 6,071 794 32 2.8
North Western 4,992 1,806 45 1.7

Mr. Ennals

Of the 174,859 admissions to mental illness hospitals and units in England in 1975, 117,628 were readmissions. Information as to the number of persons to whom these figures relate is not available, nor is information on the number of readmissions for a second, third and fourth time and over. A sample study in 1972 suggested that in that year the number of persons admitted was about 79 per cent. of the number of admissions.

Mr. Ashley

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what proportion of psychiatric patients are, respectively, receiving day care, in-patient treatment in a psychiatric hospital and in-patient treatment in a psychiatric ward of a district general hospital.

Mr. Ennals

At the end of 1974, there were approximately 100,000 mental illness patients receiving day or in-patient care, 9 per cent. were day patients, 86 per cent. were in-patients in psychiatric hospital, and 5 per cent. were in-patients in general hospitals.

Mr. Ashley

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what are the number of beds in (a) psychiatric hospitals and (b) psychiatric wards in district general hospitals in each area health authority in England; and what ratio of beds per 1,000 population each figure represents.

Mr. Deakins

Many mental illness hospitals provide services for more than one health area, and there may be no separate bed allocation. According to our figures, at the end of 1975 the provision in each health region was as follows:

The number of beds in general hospital psychiatric units in health areas is as follows:

Region Area Health Authority Number of beds
Northern Cleveland 207
Durham 332
Cumbria 88
Newcastle* 53
South Tyneside 150
Yorkshire Bradford 162
Leeds* 187
Calderdale 60
North Yorkshire 50
Humberside 42
Kirklees 100
Trent Derbyshire 160
Doncaster 111
Sheffield* 40
Nottinghamshire* 33
Barnsley 66
East Anglia Norfolk 79
Cambridgeshire* 56
Suffolk 102
North West Thames Ealing, Hammersmith and Hounslow* 94
Brent and Harrow 88
Hillingdon 54
Kensington and Chelsea and Westminster* 113
Bedfordshire 150
Hertfordshire 234
North East Thames City and East London* 144
Camden and Islington 95
Enfield and Haringey 52
Barking and Havering 20
Redbridge and Waltham Forest 26
Essex 134
South East Thames Lambeth, Lewisham and Southwark* 266
Greenwich and Bexley 32
Bromley 84
Kent 124
East Sussex 38
South West Thames Merton, Sutton and Wands worth* 175
Kingston and Richmond 40
Croydon 12
West Sussex 30
Wessex Wiltshire 81
Hampshire 6
Oxford Berkshire 101
Buckinghamshire 44
Southwestern Gloucestershire 10
East Somerset 20
Cornwall and Isles of Scilly 16
Avon* 32
West Midlands Birmingham* 37
Coventry 212
Dudley 113
Wolverhampton 209
Staffordshire 90
Mersey Cheshire 231
Liverpool* 274
Sefton 129
St. Helens and Knowsley 160
North Western Lancashire 525
Manchester* 734
Bolton 6
Bury 54
Oldham 176
Rochdale 104
Salford 30
Tameside 78
Wigan 99
* Teaching authorities

It will take some further time to produce the ratio of beds per 1,000 population for mental illness hospitals, general hospital psychiatric units and other mental illness units for each region and the ratio of beds in general hospital psychiatric units per 1,000 population for each area, but I shall write to my hon. Friend.