Mentally Ill Patients (Hansard, 22 January 1990)

§ Mr. Kirkwood
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will estimate the cost of undertaking an individual assessment of the needs of all long-term mentally ill patients in Scotland over a two-year period.

§ Mr. Michael Forsyth
The cost of undertaking an individual assessment of the needs of long-term mentally ill patients will vary depending on the particular circumstances of the person involved and it is not possible to give an estimate of the costs.

§ Mr. Kirkwood
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will take steps to ensure that all long-term mentally ill patients in Scotland will have an assessment made of their individual needs within the next two years.

§ Mr. Michael Forsyth
People with mental illness have individual care plans to meet their needs while they are receiving treatment in hospital. The White Paper "Caring for People" indicates that health boards and local authorities will be required to complete an assessment of the needs of each person with a long-term mental illness due to be discharged from hospital and prepare joint care programmes for them. The intention is to introduce these care programmes from 1 April 1991.

§ Mr. Kirkwood
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) what extra resources will be available to local authorities to pay for the individual needs assessments for long-term mentally ill patients in Scotland; and if he will make a statement;
(2) what extra resources will be made available to local authorities to develop community care for long-term mentally ill patients in Scotland;
(3) what new resources are currently being planned to offset the reduction in long-term beds for patients who are mentally ill.

§ Mr. Lang
I refer the hon. Member to the answer which I gave on 16 January 1990 to his earlier questions on the same subject. (Official Report, Vol. 165, col. 208-09.)

§ Mr. Kirkwood
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is his estimate of the proportion of long-term mentally ill patients currently in Scottish hospitals that could satisfactorily be cared for in a community context.

§ Mr. Michael Forsyth
Whether a long-term mentally ill inpatient could be satisfactorily discharged into the community is a matter of clinical judgment. No comprehensive estimates of the likely proportion involved are currently available.

§ Mr. Kirkwood
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what plans he has to develop a system of bridging finance to develop services for the provision of community care of long-term mentally ill patients in Scottish hospitals.

§ Mr. Michael Forsyth
Under the arrangements set out in the White Paper "Caring for People", health boards and local authorities will each prepare a community care plan. As a basis for these plans, the White Paper recognises a548W need for planning agreements between boards and authorities setting out shared assumptions and objectives. A key requirement of planning agreements will be funding agreements setting out the basis on which health and social care will be funded. The details will be the subject of consultation in due course.

§ Mr. Kirkwood
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what plans he has to establish an independent body to undertake any needs assessment of individual long-term mentally ill patients in hospitals in Scotland; and if he will make a statement.

§ Mr. Michael Forsyth
None. The needs assessment of mentally ill patients in hospital is a matter for the relevant health boards. The Mental Welfare Commission for Scotland has a statutory duty to inquire into any case where there appears to be any deficiency of treatment or care and to follow this up as appropriate.

§ Mr. Kirkwood
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what steps he proposes to take to reduce the number of inappropriate hospital admissions for patients who are mentally ill.

§ Mr. Michael Forsyth
The proposals in the White Paper "Caring for People" are designed to help the mentally ill to be cared for in a community setting and to ensure that they are admitted to hospital only where, on the basis of clinical judgment, it is necessary for the purposes of treatment.

§ Mr. Kirkwood
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he plans to develop systems of community and institutional care for long-term mentally ill patients in hospitals in Scotland.

§ Mr. Michael Forsyth
The White Paper "Caring for People" sets out in detail the Government's proposals for the provision of comprehensive community facilities for the long-term mentally ill and other priority groups. At the same time we are providing the necessary resources to develop and improve hospital facilities for those whom this remains the most appropriate form of care.