HC Deb 23 July 1984 vol 64 cc439-40W
Mr. Bermingham

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether there has yet been a comprehensive reassessment of all patients detained under the Mental Health Act 1983 to see whether they can be classified under one of the four forms of mental disorder under that Act; and, in particular, whether all mentally handicapped patients who are detained can be classified as mentally impaired or severely mentally impaired.

Mr. John Patten

Information is not available in the form requested. Re-classification does not apply in the case of restricted patients. The appropriate classification of patients who are not subject to restriction orders will be a matter for consideration on the occasion of renewal of detention and when the patient appears before a mental health review tribunal. Thus, reassessment will occur progressively as individual cases become due for consideration.

Mr. Bermingham

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he has any figures and other information on the success of section 39 of the Mental Health Act 1983 in finding hospital beds for mentally disordered offenders.

Mr. John Patten

The information we have relates to the first quarter of 1984. Returns from regional health authorities show that in that quarter, courts required no help from nine of the 14 regional health authorities. Three regions had one request; one had two requests; and one had three requests. In two of the eight requests a consultant psychiatrist advised that the patient was not suffering from any mental disorder as defined in the Mental Health Act, or that he would not benefit from treatment under a hospital order. The other six requests resulted in the admission of patients to suitable hospitals.

More generally, we are satisfied that the introduction of the new section, and the constructive response made to it by regional medical officers and others concerned, has improved liaison between courts and health authorities. The cases in which difficulties arise in finding a bed have never been more than a small minority of the cases referred for admission by the courts (there were 830 such admissions in NHS hospitals in 1982, and 166 to special hospitals) and the new legislation has helped to make the number still smaller.