HC Deb 02 July 1979 vol 969 cc503-6W
Mr. Kilroy-Silk

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) what is the nature of the health establishment that makes day places available for the mentally ill in Barnsley; and how many places are involved;

(2) what is the nature and extent of the non-structured day care that operates for the mentally ill in Bury;

(3) if he will detail the voluntary provision available for day care of the mentally ill in each of the authorities of City of London, Northumberland, Solihull, Suffolk, Trafford, Westminster and Warwickshire;

(4) if he will provide detailed information on how each of the 14 local authorities

£ million
1974–75* 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 (provisional)
Hospital:
In-patients and out-patients 417.8 417.8 406.3 420.6
Day patients 16.3 16.5 17.7 20.4
Personal social services:
Residential facilities 4.0 4.6 5.1 5.8
Day facilities 3.6 3.6 4.0 4.3
* Estimate based on small sample of costing returns.

Mr. Kilroy-Silk

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he is satisfied with progress in the provision of day care places for the mentally ill.

Sir George Young

I refer the hon. Member to my hon. Friend's reply to him on 28 June—[Vol. 969, cs.327–8.]

Mr. Kilroy-Silk

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many day care places for the mentally ill are provided by, respectively, Lancashire, Sefton, St. Helens and Knowsley.

Sir George Young

Statistical returns made by the local authorities indicated that the day care places provided by

which are now providing in some way for the day care of the mentally ill, or have facilities becoming available in the near future, are so providing; or what facilities are becoming available.

Dr. Vaughan

I refer the hon. Member to my letters to him dated 24 May and 28 June.

Mr. Kilroy-Silk

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) how much has been spent in each year since 1974 on day and residential facilities for the mentally ill;

(2) what was spent on (a) hospital services and (b) personal social services for the mentally ill in each year since 1974.

Sir George Young

The table below sets out estimated net revenue expenditure in England, at constant prices—public expenditure survey 1978—on NHS hospital services and on local authority personal social services day and residential facilities for the mentally ill. Expenditure on other personal social services, e.g., social workers, is not available centrally in a form that permits assessment of the proportion going on any particular client group.

them specifically for the mentally ill at 31 March 1978 were:

  • Lancashire—40 places.
  • Sefton—12 places.
  • St. Helens—nil places—but I am aware that a multi-purpose centre is due to be opened this month which will provide 20 places for the mentally ill.
  • Knowsley—25 places.

The first three authorities listed also had day centres in which places were not allocated to particular client groups. Some of these places may be used for the mentally ill.

Mr. Kilroy-Silk

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will name all those hospitals that admit mentally ill patients from the local authority area of Barnsley, Buckinhamshire, Bury, Calder-dale, Dudley and Sandwell and indicate in each case the number of patients considered ready for discharge into the community.

Sir George Young

The information requested in the first part of the question is not readily available. I shall let the hon. Member have a full reply as soon as possible. As regards the second part, it is not possible to provide estimated numbers of patients ready for discharge, as explained in my reply today to the hon. Member's question on this subject, dealing with the country as a whole.

Mr. Kilroy-Silk

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is his estimate of the number of people considered suitable for discharge from mental hospitals to the community.

Sir George Young

It is for the responsible consultant to decide when a patient is suitable for discharge from a mental illness or mental handicap hospital to the community. Statistics concerning such patients are not held centrally. It is, therefore, not possible to provide the estimates requested by the hon. Member.

Mr. Kilroy-Silk

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is the national figure of mentally ill persons requiring day care.

Sir George Young

There is no national figure of the number of mentally ill persons requiring day care. In the 1975 White Paper "Better Services for the Mentally Ill', the scale of provision suggested for those attending by day only was 0.30 day hospital places and 0.60 local authority day centre places for 1,000 population—additional places in the day hospital were suggested for in-patients using it during the day. These guidelines were based on the limited information then available and may need to be modified as community facilities for mentally ill people are further developed.

Mr. Kilroy-Silk

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many patients were in mental hospitals in each year since 1974.

Sir George Young

The in-patient figures for England are as follows:

Mental illness hospitals and units in general hospitals Mental handicap hospitals and units in general hospitals Total
1974 89,426 50,923 140,349
1975 87,102 49,839 136,941
1976 83,320 48,959 132,279
1977* 80,736 47,947 128,683
* Provisional.

Mr. Kilroy-Silk

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many day care places for the mentally ill are currently available; and how many of these are provided by voluntary organisations and how many by local authorities.

Sir George Young

There were 12,085 places for mentally ill adults in NHS day hospitals at 31 December 1977; and, according to provisional figures, there were 5,368 places for the mentally ill available to local authorities in day centres at 31 March 1978. The figure of 5,368 includes 4,871 places provided by local authorities themselves and 497 places made available to them by voluntary and other organisations; it does not cover centres in which places are not allocated to particular client groups, nor places made available to local authorities by hospitals.