§ Dr. Lynne JonesTo ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to his oral statement of 17 January,Official Report, column 671, (1) of the 80,000 beds how many are psychiatric hospital beds; [12293]
(2) whether the 20,000 acute beds referred to are (a) psychiatric hospital beds and (b) included within the figure of 80,000 beds referred to at the same time, or additional to that figure. [12294]
§ Mr. BowisThe figure of 80,000 refers to the number of beds in hospital and residential units for mentally ill people. This figure includes some 66,000 hospital beds of which some 20,000 are "acute" or "short-stay" beds.