§ Mr. Ernie Rossasked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will establish a committee of inquiry into security arrangements in Scottish mental hospitals.
§ Mr. FairgrieveNo. My right hon. Friend is himself examining carefully the implications of recent incidents involving security at mental hospitals, and the report on mental health services for adults in Scotland now in preparation may contain relevant advice.
§ Mr. Ernie Rossasked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many hospital beds in mental hospitals are in buildings built before 1900; and how this compares with the figures published by the Scottish Home and Health Department in " The Way Ahead " in 1976.
§ Mr. FairgrieveThe figures published in " The Way Ahead " in 1976 related to beds in mental illness hospitals, 90 per cent. of which were reckoned to be in nineteenth century buildings. Information to up-date this assessment is not available centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Most of the accommodation in hospitals which opened before 1900 has been substantially adapted and upgraded in recent years. New and replacement bed accommodation including beds in acute psychiatric units in district general hospitals has been and is being provided where necessary.