HC Deb 28 April 1983 vol 41 cc391-3W
Mr. Strang

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will estimate the number of discharges of mentally handicapped children under 16 years from mental handicap hospitals, together with the places discharged to, for each of the last 10 years in England.

Mr. Rossi

The numbers of discharges of mentally handicapped children under 16 years from mental handicap hospitals and units in England were as follows:

Year Number
1972 4,870
1973 4,820
1974 5,260
1975 5,460
1976 5,860

Mental handicap hospitals and units England
Recommended disposal 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981*
Discharges of patients aged under 10 years
All 2,578 2,473 2,748 2,603 2,743 2,838 3,127 3,050 3,244 3,590
Psychiatric bed in other hospital, Mental Nursing home, etc. 108 55 48 29 53 32 38 22 21 14
Guardianship under section 41 of Mental Health Act 1959 138 121 175 288 130 111 108 56 118 146
Day patient care and related after-care 70 106 330 224 231 228 246 219 130 78
Out-patient care and related after-care 194 218 247 299 408 369 333 352 427 533
Local Authority Social Services care/residential accommodation 1,382 1,219 1,098 937 712 717 643 563 575 641
Special school care 137 159 113 180 220 126
Family doctor referral 589 700 962 1,006 1,058 1,156
Others (including no further treatment, not known, etc.) 686 754 850 826 483 522 684 652 695 896
Discharges of patients aged 10–19 years
All 3,522 3,676 4,017 4,526 4,871 5,479 6,005 6,596 7,704 8,907
Psychiatric bed in other hospital, Mental Nursing home, etc. 351 222 187 206 213 240 235 160 234 160
Guardianship under section 41 of Mental Health Act 1959 109 161 253 374 263 270 159 77 57 46
Day patient care and related after-care 115 160 285 499 514 548 433 505 541 569
Out-patient care and related after-care 157 270 298 341 590 675 799 843 1,121 1,323
Local Authority Social Services care/residential accommodation 1,675 1,711 1,809 1,798 1,561 1,757 1,672 1,844 2,138 2,351
Special school care 278 225 198 369 439 450
Family doctor referral 841 1,058 1,420 1,498 1,673 1,982
Others (including no further treatment, not known, etc.) 1,115 1,152 1,185 1,308 611 706 1,089 1,300 1,501 2,026
* Provisional figures for 1981.
† Not separately identified.

Mr. Strang

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will estimate the numbers of mentally handicapped children under 16 years resident in mental handicap hospitals (a) by total and (b) as a proportion per 100,000 of the population in each of the last 10 years in England.

Mr. Rossi

The information available is given in the following table.

Year Number
1977 6,235
1978 6,927
1979 7,170
1980 8,038
*1981 8,987
Figures for 1972 to 1976 have been estimated.
* Provisional figure for 1981.

The figures include discharges of children admitted to hospital for short periods for family relief, assessment, and/or treatment. The places to which patients are discharged are not known centrally. Information is collected about the recommended treatment or care on discharge from hospital, but to produce such information specifically for the under 16 age group would involve disproportionate expense. Available information for the age groups under 10 years and 10 to 19 years is given in the following tables. For a discussion of the decline in the number of children in hospital on a long-term basis, I would refer the hon. Member to chapter 2 of the 1980 review of mental handicap services in England "Mental Handicap: Progress, Problems, and Priorities", which is in the Library.

England
Mental Handicap Hospitals and Units
Resident patients under 16 years at 31 December
Year Number Number per 100,000 population under 16 years
1972 5,807 49.9
1973 5,346 46.0
1974 5,000 43.3
1975 4,654 40.8
1976 4,263 37.9
1977 3,878 35.2
1978 3,287 30.3
1979 2,839 26.6
1980 2,421 23.1
1981* 1,994 19.4
* Provisional figures.

Mr. Strang

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will estimate the numbers of children under 16 years resident in (a) local authority and (b) registered voluntary homes for mentally handicapped children in each of the last 10 years in England.

Mr. Rossi

The information available is given in the following table.

Mental Handicap Hosptials and Units in England
Resident Patients at 31 December
Age (Years) 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981*
Under 2 26 28 21 20 16 9 9 7 6 7
2–4 222 189 170 153 122 110 76 58 57 61
5–9 1,642 1,403 1,224 1,052 925 811 637 553 471 340
10–15 3,917 3,726 3,585 3,429 3,200 2,948 2,565 2,221 1,887 1,586
16–18 2,394 2,315 2,393 2,206 2,100 2,177 2,214 2,189 2,019 1,685
19–64 44,954 44,414 37,349 36,720 36,210 35,373 34,704 33,901 33,396 32,845
65–74 6,181 6,259 6,386 6,519 4,731 4,634 4,538 4,391
75 & over 1,927 2,033 2,070 2,176
Total under 16 5,807 5,346 5,000 4,654 4,263 3,878 3,287 2,839 2,421 1,994
Total All Ages 53,155 52,075 50,923 49,839 48,959 47,947 46,863 45,596 44,444 43,091
* Provisional figures.