§ Mr. Hannanasked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many mental hospitals are under his administration; how many patients they contain; when these hospitals were built how many mental hospitals have been built in the last 50 90W years; and to what extent these hospitals are overcrowded.
§ Mr. RossThere are 46 mental and mental deficiency hospitals under the administration of Scottish regional hospital boards, and one, the State Hospital, Carstairs, under a committee of management directly responsble to me. In the six months' period ending 31st March, 1967, these hospitals accommodated on average 24,628 patients; in addition there were on average 397 patients suffering from mental illness or mental deficiency in other hospitals administered by regional hospital boards.
Thirty-two mental and mental deficiency hospitals were substantially built before 1900. Four were built between 1900 and 1918 and ten have been opened since 1918 although some of these include buildings built before 1918. Several of the earlier groups now consist almost entirely of recently constructed buildings, since 1948 over 2,300 beds in new or substantially reconditioned premises have been provided at hospitals first opened over 50 years ago.
There is some degree of overcrowding in a number of mental and mental deficiency hospitals. For the six months' period ending 31st March, 1967, one mental hospital and two mental deficiency hospitals recorded an average number of patients exceeding the number of staffed beds, and others were overcrowded in some parts.