HC Deb 26 July 1976 vol 916 cc112-3W
Mrs. Millie Miller

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many National Health psychiatric hospitals have indicated that they will not accept patients from Broadmoor; how many of these are hospitals which in the past were willing to accept these patients; how many patients, who would otherwise be transferred, will be condemned to live in conditions of maximum security long after it has ceased to be appropriate for their cases; and for what lengths of time such patients are awaiting transfer on account of changes in National Health Service psychiatric hospitals policy.

Dr. Owen

Over the past 15 months staff in five hospitals have indicated to the Department that they are not at present prepared to accept any, or certain categories of, patients on transfer from Broadmoor hospital, although all five hospitals have previously accepted such patients. In addition there is a number of cases of hospitals, for a variety of reasons, showing a reluctance to accept individual patients recommended for transfer from Broadmoor hospital. At 30th June 1976 there were 26 patients at Broadmoor awaiting transfer to NHS hospitals. Of these, seven patients have been waiting for less than three months, four patients between three and six months, seven patients between six and 12 months and eight patients longer than one year.