§ Mr. Hunterasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what amount and what proportion of National 558W Health Service expenditure has been devoted to the care and treatment of patients suffering from schizophrenia in each year since 1974.
§ Mr. John PattenThis information is not held centrally.
§ Mr. Hunterasked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) how many patients were receiving treatment in the National Health Service for schizophrenia at a convenient date in each year since 1974;
(2) what proportion of National Health Service beds in each year since 1974 have been taken up by schizophrenia patients.
§ Mr. John PattenInformation by diagnosis is collected centrally only on hospital inpatients and is not precisely in the form requested. The available information which can be provided without disproportionate cost is given in the table.
Admission to, Discharges from, and Deaths in Mental Illness Hospitals and Units in England of Patients with a diagnosis of Schizophrenic Psychoses Year Admissions† Discharges† Deaths 1974 26,900 27,801 1,369 1975 27,013 27,,777 1,287 1976 27,388 27,798 1,473 1977 25,738 26,560 1,264 1978 24,999 25,615 1,261 *1979 24,283 24,617 1,277 *1980 24,747 25,240 1,260 *1981 25,313 25,992 1,146 *1982 23,934 24,594 1,170 *1983 24,314 25,336 1,045 * The figures from 1979 may not be precisely comparable with the figures for earlier years because of changes in the coding system used. † Some patients have more than one admission and subsequent discharge in a year and are represented more than once in the figures. Equally, some patients can be treated for several years between admission and discharge or death.
§ Mr. Hunterasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what public funds have been made available for research into schizophrenia in each year since 1974.
§ Mr. BrookeI have been asked to reply.
The Medical Research Council, which receives its grant-in-aid through the Department, is the main Government agency for the promotion of medical research in the United Kingdom. The Department of Health and Social Security also supports research through its health service research programme. I understand that the expenditure on research projects on schizophrenia by the MRC and the DHSS since 1980 (excluding expenditure by the MRC on projects which might contribute indirectly to an understanding of schizophrenia) is as follows:
Financial year £000s (cash) MRC DHSS 1980–81 1,419 2.1 1981–82 1,518 10.5 1982–83 1,634 15.4 1983–84 1,778 14.3 No figures are available for MRC expenditure on research in this area prior to 1980–81.
Research work relevant to schizophrenia is also being conducted in universities and medical schools, financed from the block grant to universities allocated for teaching and research on advice from the University Grants Committee. Figures are not available.