§ Mr. Edward Gardnerasked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) what facilities are at present available at Whittingham Hospital for the treatment of criminal offenders in need of psychiatric treatment;
(2) whether it is the intention of her Department to provide facilities for the treatment of criminal offenders at Whittingham Hospital;
(3) what plans, if any, her Department has for the use of Whittingham Hospital in South Fylde for treatment of criminal offenders in need of psychiatric treatment;
(4) whether her Department has authorised or intends to authorise the setting up of a psychiatric unit at Whittingham Hospital for the treatment of criminal offenders in need of psychiatric treatment.
§ Dr. OwenNo special facilities exist at Whittingham Hospital for the treatment of criminal offenders as distinct from other patients who are in need of psychiatric treatment. Persons brought before the courts who are in need of psychiatric treatment may be admitted to Whittingham Hospital after assessment by a consultant psychiatrist and nurse, and may be treated in open wards, or in locked wards, recently relocated in a maximum observation unit. There are no plans at present for changing these arrangements at Whittingham Hospital.