§ Mr. Sydney Irvingasked the Minister of Health what percentage of the total cost of the National Health Services in the last 12 months was spent on mental health services; and how this was divided between hospital services and community services, respectively.
§ Mr. Walker-SmithIn the last financial year for which accounts are available—the year ended 31st March, 1959 —about 11¾ per cent. of the total cost (about £671 million) of the National Health Service is identifiable as having been spent on mental health services. This includes 11¼ per cent. by hospitals (about 19½ per cent. of their expenditure) and ½ per cent. by local health authorities (about 6¼ per cent. of their expenditure).
Certain administrative expenses of hospital authorities which cannot readily be identified with individual hospitals, and the cost of beds for mental illness in acute hospitals which cannot be separately ascertained, are not included as part of the cost of mental health services.
Similarly there has been included no part of the cost of other local health authority services, such as home nursing, ambulance services and domestic help, 196W which are available to mentally disordered persons as they are to other persons who require them.