§ 55. Mr. Kennedyasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what information he can provide about re-admission figures for the mentally ill and the mentally handicapped as a result of the trend towards short-term care.
§ Mr. WhitneyInformation on re-admissions to mental illness hospitals and units up to 1983 is contained in table A1.3 of booklet 1, "Mental illness hospitals and units in England: trends in admissions, discharges and residents", in the DHSS series "Mental Health Statistics for England 1983". Corresponding information for mental handicap 497W hospitals and units is contained in table B1.3 of booklet 2 in the same series. The booklets also contain, at tables A7.2 and B7.2 respectively, information on lengths of stay.
Some more up-to-date, but less detailed, information is included in the DHSS Statistical Bulletins 6/85, "Mental illness hospitals and units in England, results from the Mental Health Enquiry 1984", and 7/85, "Mental handicap hospitals and units in England, results from the Mental Health Enquiry 1984". Copies of these booklets and statistical bulletins are in the Library.
It may be helpful to point out that while some re-admissions represent a further attempt to treat a patient who has already received in-patient treatment and needs it again, a growing number, particularly for elderly mentally ill people and for mentally handicapped people, reflect the trend, which I welcome, towards arranging a succession of brief admissions at regular intervals for people living with their family or other informal carers, primarily or partly to provide respite for the carers. Our figures of course include both groups.