HC Deb 01 July 1994 vol 245 cc733-4W
Mr. Hinchliffe

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many private psychiatric hospital beds there were for each year since 1979; and how many of those beds were for children.

Mr. Bowis

The number of psychiatric beds in private hospitals, homes and clinics registered under section 23 of the Registered Homes Act 1984 is shown in the table for the years 1982 to 1992–93. On average, fewer than 100 beds per year are allocated specifically to children.

Number
1982 1,994
1983 2,394
1984 2,176
1985 2,340
1986 3,165
1987–88 4,507
1988–89 5,864
1989–90 7,693
1990–91 10,722
1991–92 12,653
1992–93 16,946

The bulk of this growth is to cater for the needs of elderly mentally ill people.

Source: 1982–86 SBH212 returns. 1987–88 to 1992–93 K036 return. Information not available prior to 1982.