HC Deb 01 December 1988 vol 142 cc380-1W
Mr. McCrindle

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many former psychiatric hospital patients have been transferred to the community; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Mellor

In 1986, the latest year for which figures are available, 176,161 people, including readmissions during the year, were discharged from mental illness hospitals and units in England, and 1,082 of these patients had a length of stay of five years or more.

Mr. McCrindle

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he has taken to ensure that the current level of community care facilities is sufficient to accommodate all those psychiatric hospital patients returned to the community; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Mellor

It is for the consultant psychiatrists and their professional colleagues to ensure that patients' needs are assessed, and arrangements are made with local authorities and other care agencies for those needs to be met, before discharging their patients.

Mr. McCrindle

To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he has any plans to increase the number of qualified medical personnel available to assess psychiatric hospital patients' needs in community care hostels; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Mellor

We issued planning guidelines in July this year asking health authorities to ensure that a consultant psychiatrist in each district has special responsibility for rehabilitation and continuing care. This could extend to community care hostels.

Community care is a multi-disciplinary task and other hospital professionals, as well as the primary care team, also have an important assessment role.

Mr. McCrindle

To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he has any plans to make the medical reports of psychiatric hospital patients available to the community care hostels receiving these patients; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Mellor

Caring for mentally disordered people in the community is a multi-disciplinary task. We have stressed the need for collaborative work in this area and the importance of this has been emphasised by the findings of the committee of inquiry into the care and after care of Miss Sharon Campbell. In sharing information doctors have to be mindful of the constraints of medical confidence and respect the wishes of the patient as to how such information is shared.

Mr. McCrindle

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will estimate current and future needs for community care facilities; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Mellor

Current and projected need for community care facilities is one of the factors taken into account in determining the overall allocation of funding to regional health authorities and local authorities. It is for individual authorities to plan local services and resource allocation in the light of local needs and priorities.