Miss Wardasked the Minister of Health how many mental hospitals have fully trained hospital almoners, and what percentage of the whole this represents.
§ Mr. Iain MacleodAccording to the most recent information, hospital almoners are employed in two of the 128 mental hospitals in England and Wales. The majority of these hospitals employ psychiatric social workers, whose work is of a similar nature to that of hospital almoner, and who are specially trained for work on behalf of patients with mental illness and mental defect.
Miss Wardasked the Minister of Health to name the mental hospitals under the Newcastle Regional Hospital Board, and state which hospitals have fully trained hospital almoners.
§ Mr. Iain MacleodThe following are the board's hospitals
Cherry Knowle Hospital, Ryhope, near Sunderland; Garlands Hospital, Carlisle; Winterton Hospital, Sedgefield, Stockton-on-Tees; St. Mary's Hospital, Stannington, near Morpeth; St. Nicholas Hospital, Gosforth; St. George's Hospital, Morpeth; St. Luke's Hospital, Middlesbrough.Psychiatric social workers were employed at all the hospitals at the end of 1953. It is not the usual practice to have almoners at mental hospitals.