§ Mr. Terry Fieldsasked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many units, to cater for long-term mentally ill patients, currently exist in (a) Merseyside as a county and (b) the South Sefton area; how many patients are currently awaiting placement in mentally ill units; and what is the length of time patients remain on the waiting list.
§ Mr. John PattenI assume that in referring to mentally ill units the hon. Member has in mind the various community-based settings to which long-stay patients in the large mental illness institutions are increasingly being discharged. These settings vary widely in kind, and no central record is kept of the totality of provision offered by the NHS, local authorities and the voluntary and private sectors. Nor is any central record kept of the number of long-stay patients in psychiatric hospitals assessed as suitable for discharge but for whom placements cannot be found. The hon. Member may like to write to the Mersey regional health authority, which may be able to provide him with some of the information he seeks.