§ Mrs. FyfeTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is his target for the number of psychiatric beds by 1999; and what is the current number of such beds.
§ Mr. Stewart[holding answer 18 July 1994]: There are no such targets setting the number of psychiatric beds although there is a long-term aim to reduce long-stay beds by around 8,000. It is for individual health boards to determine future in-patient bed numbers, based on assessment of patients who are likely to require continuing specialist medical and nursing supervision.
The current average number of staffed psychiatric beds available is shown in the table.
Psychiatric speciality Number of beds Adolescent psychiatry 63 Child psychiatry 56 Mental illness 5,120 Psychogeriatrics 5,960 Psychiatric specialties 11,199 This excludes long-stay provision for people with learning disabilities and for the frail elderly.