HC Deb 17 May 1977 vol 932 cc117-8W
Mr. David Price

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many community psychiatric nurses are at present working for the Hampshire Area Health Authority (Teaching); and how many more would be needed to ensure that every psycho-geriatric patient in the community were visited twice a week as a minimum.

Mr. Moyle

At present 48 community psychiatric nurses are working for Hampshire Area Health Authority (Teaching). It is not possible to say how many more would be needed for the purpose the hon. Member states, since the total of elderly severely mentally infirm persons in the community is not known.

Mr. David Price

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what steps he intends to take to ensure that the Hampshire Area Health Authority (Teaching) is provided with sufficient resources to provide a fully comprehensive service in psycho-geriatrics.

Mr. Moyle

It is for the Wessex Regional Health Authority to allocate resources to the Hampshire Area Health Authority (Teaching) and to the other AHAs in the region, taking account of the total made available and the guidance which I have issued. Health Authorities have been urged to give priority, within the limits of available resources, to improving services for the elderly severely mentally infirm, in line with the proposals contained in the White Paper "Better services for the mentally ill" (Cmnd 6233).

Mr. David Price

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is the current number of hospital beds made available by the Hampshire Area Health Authority (Teaching) for psycho-geriatric and acute admission geriatric cases, respectively; how many such beds cannot be used because of staff shortages; and how long is the average waiting time between reference and admission to hospital for a psycho-geriatric and an acute admission geriatric case, respectively.

Mr. Moyle

828 beds are currently made available by Hampshire Area Health Authority (Teaching) for elderly severely mentally infirm patients and none is out of commission by reason of staff shortages. A further 16 assessment beds for this category of patient at Basingstoke District General Hospital have not yet been opened although they are included in district plans which are at present under consideration. 275 beds are available for geriatric assessment cases and a further seven at Southampton are temporarily closed because of nursing recruitment difficulties.

Meaningful figures for average waiting times cannot be given. Waiting times vary depending upon the degree of urgency for treatment and the length of the appropriate waiting list. Urgent cases are generally admitted without delay.

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