HC Deb 18 June 1992 vol 209 cc672-3W
Mrs. Dunwoody

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she plans to encourage dual registration of nursing and residential homes.

Mr. Yeo

It is for homes to decide what type of care they wish to offer. We have provided for dual registration so that a single home can provide both residential and nursing care.

Mrs. Dunwoody

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans she has to ensure that clients of nursing and residential homes are fully informed of the service available in their community when the National Health Service and Community Care Act 1990 comes into effect.

Mr. Yeo

The National Health Service and Community Care Act 1990 requires local authorities to prepare community care plans in consultation with local health authorities, housing authorities, voluntary organisations and representatives of service users and their carers. These plans should be published and made widely available to the public.

Mrs. Dunwoody

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she plans to monitor the placement of patients in residential and nursing homes when the National Health Service and Community Care Act 1990 comes into effect.

Mr. Yeo

We shall be monitoring the implementation of all the major provisions of the community care reforms.

Mrs. Dunwoody

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list the numbers of elderly people in Crewe and Nantwich living in(a) local authority nursing homes, (b) local authority residential homes and (c) private nursing homes for the years (i) 1985–86, (ii) 1990–91 and (iii) 1991–92.

Mr. Yeo

Nursing homes are not provided by local authorities.

At 31 March 1991 there were 1,747 people in local authority homes for elderly people in Cheshire including 240 in the Crewe and Nantwich area. This compared with 1,799 at 31 March 1986. The March 1986 comparative figure for the Crewe and Nantwich area is not known. The number includes some younger physically handicapped people, who are not separately identified.

Information is not collected centrally on the numbers of residents in private nursing homes. The number of beds designated for elderly people in private nursing homes in the Crewe health authority area at 31 March 1991 was 276 compared with 136 at 31 December 1986.

Information for 1991–92 is not yet available.