§ Mr. Peter Bottomleyasked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many National Health Service patients are given treatment pursuant to the Mental Health Act 1959 and paid for by the National Health Service in private mental illness and handicap hospitals; what is the cost of such treatment and what types of treatment are provided; and if he will list by reference to each section how many of these patients are compulsorily detained under sections 25, 26, 29, 60, 65, 70 and 72.
§ Mr. Geoffrey FinsbergInformation in the form requested is not available centrally. On 31 December 1980 there were 53 patients resident in private mental nursing homes in England who were subject to detention under the Mental Health Act 1959. On that day there were 885 mentally ill and mentally handicapped patients in institutions outside the National Health Service who were being maintained under a contractual arrangement with a health authority. The statistical returns do not show how many of these were subject to detention, or the types of treatment they were receiving. The cost to the NHS varies considerably according to the type of institution and the care and treatment required.