§ Mrs. Dunwoodyasked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many geriatric/psychiatric beds are available in the North-West of England; and what estimate has been made of the needs of the region for the next five years.
§ Mr. Moyle:The numbers of geriatric and psychiatric beds in the Mersey and North-Western National Health Service regions on 30th September 1978 were as follows:
Mersey Region North-Western Region Geriatric beds (a) in general hospitals 1,456 2,928 (b) in other hospitals 1,842 1,931 (c)Total 3,298 4,859 Psychiatric beds (a)in general hospitals 988 2,063 (b) in other hospitals 5,790 4,445 (c)Total 6,778 6,508 The Department's guidelines to health authorities suggest that hospital beds for the elderly and mentally ill should be provided at the following rates:
Elderly
10 geriatric beds per thousand population aged 65 and over—divided equally between general hospitals and small local hospitals.
Mentally ill
0.5 beds per thousand total population for adult mental illness—in general hospitals—plus a small number of beds within the district for"new long stay"patients and beds as needed, mainly in existing mental illness hospitals for the declining number of"old long stay"patients and certain specialised units.
628WElderly people with severe mental infirmity
2.5 to 3 beds per thousand population aged 65 and over—the latter figure is used by both the Mersey and North-Western regional health authorities.
When applied to the projected 1981 population of the two regions, these guidelines give the following bed numbers:
Geriatric beds (a)in general hospitals 1,710 3,175 (b)in small local hospitals 1,710 3,175 (c)Total 3,420 6,350 Beds for the adult mentally ill in general hospitals 1,220 2,240 Beds for elderly people with severe mental infirmity 1,020 1,900 The above figures represent only the Department's general guidance; it is for health authorities to determine in detail the needs of the populations they serve and to decide the rate at which these services can be developed taking into account the resources available, the quality of existing provision, and the high priority which the Government attach to these services.