§ Dr. Roger Thomasasked the Secretary of State for Wales whether it remains the policy of his Department that social service departments are to take over responsibility for an increasing number of patients in the community; whether any extra funding is to be made available; and what regard he has given to the disquiet expressed by doctors.
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§ Mr. Wyn RobertsThe Government's policy is that care should be provided in the community unless there is a specific medical or nursing need for hospital treatment. My right hon. Friend has undertaken to provide an additional and accumulative £1 million each year for an initial period of 5 years beginning in 1983–84 to promote the development of community care for mentally-handicapped people. The Government are considering comments from a wide range of interests, including representative medical organisations, on the consultation document "Care in the Community". More than three-quarters of the respondents favoured the principle of shifting the balance of care towards the community.