§ 28. Mr. Thurnhamasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what are the objectives of his Department's policy on mentally handicapped children; how he monitors its effectiveness; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. WhitneyWe want, as a high priority, co-ordinated health and social services in each locality for mentally handicapped children and adults, and a major shift from institutional health care to a range of community care according to individual needs. The main aims identified for field authorities* include provision of the support and relief services necessary to enable families to care for mentally handicapped children at home, and suitable alternatives for children who cannot live at home, including supported placement with other families. For children who need continuing health care in a residential health setting, our objective is provision outside hospital in small home-like units as near as possible to the child's family and with easy access to and from the community.
The Department's monitoring includes studying the plans of health authorities and the statistics on children in hospital and in NHS units in the community. Regional health authorities have been asked to monitor the action of district health authorities working in consultation with local authorities to get long-stay mentally handicapped children out of hospital. In appropriate cases Ministers raise the question of progress towards this objective with them, and also wider questions of collaboration with local authorities, in our annual reviews of regional health authorities. However, not all aspects of developing services are readily identifiable and measureable, nor is detailed central monitoring appropriate when policy allows for implementation locally, according to local knowledge, circumstances, needs and professional practice.
The national development team for mentally handicapped people examines authorities' self-monitoring arrangements, and informs my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Social Services of the current state of mental handicap services. 493W
* Outlined in the White Paper "Better Services for the Mentally Handicapped" Cmnd. 4683 (1971), recently summarised in the paper 'Mental Handicap: Policies and Priorities" appended to the Government response to the Second Report from the Social Services Committee, 1984–85 Session: Community Care, Cmnd. 9674 (1985).