§ Mr. Leeasked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many cases have been brought to the notice of his Department during the last five years of beds being refused by mental hospitals to persons ordered by courts of law to be detained under Sections 60 and 65 of the Mental Health Act; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. MoyleBefore making an order under Section 60 of the Mental Health Act 1959 for the admission of an offender to a hospital, the court has to be satisfied that prior arrangements for the offender's admission to that hospital have been made. It is, therefore, very unusual for a bed to be refused once an order is made, although I know that in one or two cases difficulties have arisen after the court hearing. No record of such cases is, however, available.
The more widespread problem is the difficulty in some cases of making prior arrangements for the admission to hospital of offenders who require to be treated under conditions of security short of the special security of the special hospitals. Regional health authorities are seeking to provide secure psychiatric facilities, and when these are available this should ease the situation.