§ Mr. Kilroy-Silkasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many mentally abnormal offenders are currently in prison; how many are awaiting transfer to (a) special hospitals and (b) National Health Service wards; how long they have been waiting; and what steps are being taken to expedite such transfers.
§ Dr. SummerskillOn 31st December 1977, the latest date for which figures are available, there were 682 persons in prison department establishments—461 of whom were serving a sentence—who were considered by prison medical officers to be suffering from mental disorder of a nature or degree warranting their detention in hospital for medical treatment under the Mental Health Act 1959. For a breakdown of these figures I refer my hon. Friend to the answer my right hon. Friend gave to a Question by the hon. Member for Worcestershire, South (Mr. Spicer) on 13th June.—[Vol. 951, c.486.]
Five sentenced prisoners are awaiting admission to Broadmoor hospital; the periods for which they have been waiting range between one week and five months. Places have not yet been found for four sentenced prisoners recommended for transfer to National Health Service 271W hospitals; the waiting period varies between one and four months. In a number of cases the prison authorities have not judged it worth while to recommend a prisoner's transfer to a National Health Service hospital because they have foreseen difficulties in finding a hospital vacancy. Some attempts to transfer a prisoner have to be abandoned because no hospital place can be found before the prisoner's earliest date of release.
Discussions about the general problem are continuing between the Home Office and the Department of Health and Social Security.