HC Deb 09 July 1984 vol 63 cc418-9W
Mr. David Young

asked the Secretary of State for Social Affairs what has been the estimated bed usage in hospitals for drug addicts in National Health Service hospitals in each of the last 10 years; and if he will break the figures down by district.

Mr. John Patten

[pursuant to his reply, 3 July 1984, c. 139]: Information is not collected centrally in precisely the form requested. The available information which can be provided without disproportionate cost is given in the two tables.

Table 1: Admissions to mental illness hospitals and units in England with a main diagnosis of drug dependence
Regional Health Authority *1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 †1979 †1980 †1981 †1982
Northern 77 74 54 65 59 49 38 46 61
Yorkshire 58 68 48 49 56 37 31 39 42
Trent 102 77 98 121 128 81 68 81 119
East Anglian 51 44 47 62 63 36 32 31 28
North West Thames 151 174 130 132 104 54 69 117 93
North East Thames 49 88 88 63 49 35 41 41 41
South East Thames 177 229 260 365 331 346 311 369 402
South West Thames 250 307 127 116 97 74 71 66 59
Wessex 48 83 72 62 71 62 53 67 72
Oxford 67 34 25 24 10 23 12 15 20
South Western 48 70 61 55 51 44 42 58 72
West Midlands 80 116 105 89 105 71 101 83 109
Mersey 89 60 70 59 49 25 31 43 45
North Western 162 161 149 121 127 82 104 89 168
Special Health Authorities 66 72 85 61 54 83 84 55 12
TOTAL 1,475 1,657 1,419 1,444 1,354 1,102 1,088 1,200 1,343
* Comparable figures for earlier years are not readily available because of NHS reorganisation in 1974.
† The figures from 1979 may not be precisely comparable with the figures for earlier years because of changes in the coding system used.

Table 2: Estimated number of discharges (including deaths in hospital) from non-psychiatric hospitals in England* of patients with a main diagnosis of drug dependence
Year Estimated number
1974 370
1975 570
1976 360
1977 370
1978 510
†l979 280
†1980 300
†1981 590
†1982 n/y/a
* Numbers for this diagnosis are too small to provide reliable estimates for individual regions.
† The figures from 1979 may not be precisely comparable with the figures for earlier years because of changes in the coding system used.