HC Deb 05 July 1985 vol 82 c289W
Mr. Willie W. Hamilton

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what percentage of National Health Service beds is occupied by mentally ill and mentally handicapped persons; what percentage of consultants work with such patients; and if he will also provide the actual numbers involved.

Mr. John MacKay

For the National Health Service in Scotland, the information for 1984 is as follows:

Percentage of NHS hospital beds occupied by patients with Percentage of NHS consultants working with patients with
(a) (b) (a) (b)
Mental illness Mental deficiency Mental illness Mental deficiency
30.3 12.5 11.3 0.6

The total average number of occupied beds (March 1984) for mental illness patients is 14,264 and for mental deficiency patients 5,882 beds. The number of consultants (September 1984) in psychiatry is 219.4 (whole-time equivalents) and in mental deficiency 11.6 (whole-time equivalents).