§ Ms Tessa JowellTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients were detained in medium secure units run by the NHS for each year since 1991. [21918]
§ Mr. BowisThe number of places in purpose-built national health service medium secure units has increased from 597 in January 1991 to 792 in April 1995. The completion of our centrally funded building programme, to which we allocated more than £47 million between 1991 and 1995, will take this to over 1,150 places by the end of 1996. Further places are being developed by regions from the mainstream NHS capital programme.
The numbers of in-patients receiving treatment in these units, not all of whom will necessarily have been detained, were:
Number 31 January 1991 492 31 January 1992 532 31 January 1993 591 31 March 1994 653 Source:
Department of Health annual census of NHS medium secure units.
245WIn addition, a number of patients were receiving treatment in NHS interim secure units, which in many cases are of medium secure standard, and as NHS patients in private sector medium secure units.