§ Ms. HarmanTo ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what are his plans for continuing research into mental health problems seen by general practitioners following the closure of the general practice research unit;
(2) what funding is planned in the area of research into investigating psychiatric disorders over the next financial year following the closure of the general practice research unit;
(3) what steps he is taking to ensure multidisciplinary research into mental health problems in primary care following the closure of the general practice research unit.
§ Mr. FreemanFollowing the retirement of the director of the general practice research unit (GPRU), Professor 991W Shepherd, we reviewed our arrangements for social and community mental health research. We decided that we could best meet our likely needs through more responsive arrangements that would be possible by continuing long-term support for the GPRU and we therefore did not renew its contract.
The Department is committed to maintaining its support for social and community mental health research up to the present level of available funding of £250,000 per annum. Indeed community care is one of the priority themes for our current research programme. The commissioning of appropriate projects will, of course, be driven by the requirement for research to assist the Government's policy objectives. When these requirements for 1990–91 and beyond have been worked into our research programme later this year, we shall be approaching researchers. We expect to discuss with the new MRC social and community psychiatry unit whether some of our research needs can be met by it. An undertaking has been given that those members of the core staff of GPRU who would have become employed in the new MRC unit had Department of Health commissions been added to its core programme and have not found further employment by the time their present contract ends, will be offered grant support at the Maudsley until 30 April 1990.
§ Ms. HarmanTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of the total costs of general practice in the United Kingdom the proposed funding of investigations into psychiatric disorders would amount to after the closure of the general practice research unit.
Revenue expenditure on hospitals categorised as "Mental Illness" at 1986–87 prices 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 Regions Revenue expenditure (£ thousand) Percentage of total revenue expenditure Revenue expenditure (£ thousand) Percentage of total revenue expenditure Revenue expenditure (£ thousand) Percentage of total revenue expenditure Revenue expenditure (£ thousand) Percentage of total revenue expenditure Northern 52,186 9.25 57,267 9.31 57,317 9.26 57,854 9.27 Yorkshire 63,822 10.05 70,621 10.15 69,461 9.89 69,979 9.73 Trent 72,929 9.73 78,825 9.57 77,766 9.37 77,872 9.33 East Anglian 31,110 9.87 34,213 9.94 33,871 9.81 33,086 9.56 North West Thames 75,519 10.04 81,890 10.03 80,479 9.65 76,677 10.11 North East Thames 68,592 8.42 76,773 8.58 75,999 8.46 75,678 7.89 South East Thames 69,514 8.84 75,444 8.89 74,880 8.81 72,086 8.59 South West Thames 74,822 12.41 78,919 12.05 78,363 11.87 76,666 12.07 Wessex 51,691 11.42 55,383 11.26 55,350 11.09 54,870 10.95 Oxford 28,849 7.73 30,755 7.66 32,916 8.20 29,477 7.35 South Western 58,845 10.62 63,821 10.62 63,590 10.45 63,773 10.50 West Midlands 81,979 9.23 87,996 9.17 88,460 9.18 87,440 9.02 Mersey 50,575 10.54 53,966 10.39 52,817 10.11 51,472 9.85 North Western 31,424 4.06 33,407 3.93 33,323 3.82 35,091 4.01 Total 811,857 9.29 879,280 9.24 874,592 9.10 860,021 8.99
992W
1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 Regions Revenue expenditure (£ thousand) Percentage of total revenue expenditure Revenue expenditure (£ thousand) Percentage of total revenue expenditure Revenue expenditure (£ thousand) Percentage of total revenue expenditure Revenue expenditure (£ thousand) Percentage of total revenue expenditure Northern 57,160 9.01 57,946 9.05 57,200 8.92 57,780 8.69 Yorkshire 65,674 9.26 65,606 9.15 64,421 8.91 63,883 8.54 Trent 76,924 9.05 74,744 8.62 76,767 8.81 78,973 8.64 East Anglian 33,777 9.44 34,329 9.39 35,425 9.57 36,333 9.33 North West Thames 76,827 10.09 74,693 9.77 76,453 10.15 74,047 9.52 North East Thames 76,021 7.89 76,202 7.93 73,617 7.79 75,608 7.75 South East Thames 71,767 8.48 81,255 9.65 67,409 8.08 76,136 8.88 South West Thames 76,633 11.98 76,283 11.93 75,114 11.95 74,067 11.39
§ Mr. FreemanOur precise requirements for future research on mental health issues are still being developed.
§ Mr. WigleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the amount spent by each region on services for the mentally ill(a) in cash terms at constant prices and (b) as a proportion of their total budgets, for each year from 1979 to the latest available date.
§ Mr. Freeman[holding answer 18 April 1989]: For costing purposes prior to 1987–88 all hospitals were classified into one or other of a series of standard types which reflected the principal use to which their beds were allocated and costing returns in respect of community health services showed expenditure relating to major areas of activity only.
The following table, derived from hospital costing returns for 1979–80 to 1986–87 gives figures of regional and national revenue expenditure (expressed at 1986–87 prices) on hospitals categorised as "mental illness" and those figures as percentages of total revenue expenditure on all hospital and community health services (HCHS).
However, the expenditure figures exclude the growing volume of activity in psychiatric units within acute and other hospitals and services provided within the community health services. Such expenditure is not separately identifiable centrally.
Information on the financial year 1987–88 is to be published shortly, but, because of the adoption of changes recommended in the reports of the steering group on NHS information (the Körner committee), it will not be in a directly comparable form
993W
1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 Regions Revenue expenditure (£ thousand) Percentage of total revenue expenditure Revenue expenditure (£ thousand) Percentage of total revenue expenditure Revenue expenditure (£ thousand) Percentage of total revenue expenditure Revenue expenditure (£ thousand) Percentage of total revenue expenditure Wessex 54,031 10.51 54,490 10.35 52,850 10.09 55,041 10.02 Oxford 28,716 7.11 29,067 6.98 28,479 6.85 29,431 6.78 South Western 62,038 10.03 61,071 9.80 59,422 9.53 57,891 8.91 West Midlands 90,151 9.14 89,998 8.97 88,760 8.82 89,801 8.55 Mersey 51,664 9.89 50,392 9.56 48,556 9.25 47,681 8.78 North Western 34,872 3.96 33,936 3.82 34,360 3.86 35,215 3.82 Total 856,255 8.84 860,012 8.79 838,833 8.60 851,887 8.41 Notes:
1. The figures have been expressed at 1986–87 prices by the use of the Gross Domestic Product deflator.
2. Figures include expenditure on in-patients, out-patients, day patients etc.
3. "HCHS" includes hospital, community, patient transport (ie ambulance), blood transfusion and other services.