§ Mr. Berminghamasked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) how many, and which, regional health authorities have set up regional secure units;
639W(2) how many people can be accommodated in regional secure units;
(3) how many more regional secure units are being planned at the present time;
(4) what Her Majesty's Government are doing to encourage more regional secure units to be set up.
§ Mr. WhitneyThe Government are anxious to see regional secure units provided in each region. Ten out of the 14 regions now have permanent regional secure units in operation; an eleventh, North West Thames, has completed the building (and commissioning) of a unit and hopes to begin admitting patients in a few weeks' time. Details are shown in the following table:
Region and location Bed complement Number of beds staffed and available* 1. Northern St. Luke's Hospital, Middlesbrough 30 25 2. Yorkshire Fieldhead Hospital, Wakefield 48 32 3. Trent Towers Hospital, Leicester 60 20 4. East Anglian St. Andrew's Hospital, Norwich 36 24 5. North East Thames Runwell Hospital, nr. Southend 10 10 6. South East Thames Bcthlcm Royal Hospital + linked units managed by Bexley, Bromley, Maidstone and Eastbourne HAs 90 85 7. Wessex Knowle Hospital, Fareham 31 22 8. South Western Langdon Hospital, Dawlish 30 30 9. Mersey Rainhill Hospital, Prescot 50 50 10. North Western Prestwich Hospital, Manchester (adolescent) 20 20 (adult) 88 44 493 362 11. North West Thames Ealing Hospital-St. Bernards Wing 40 * Based on latest available information. Developments in Regions still without a RSU
South West Thames
A unit is planned at Netherne Hospital, near Coulsdon and will function in association with several "close supervision" units in existing hospitals.Oxford
A14 bed unit at Borocourt Hospital, near Reading, is under construction and is expected to open in 1987. The region is also planning two other units.West Midlands
640WA unit at Rubery Hill Hospital, Birmingham (100 beds), is under construction and is expected to be completed before the end of 1987.Additional developments in Regions which already have an RSU Trent
Additional local psychiatric intensive care units are being developed throughout the Region.North East Thames
The Region has plans for two further units.South Western
Construction work on a second 30-bed unit at Glenside Hospital, Bristol is expected to commence towards the end of 1986.We are funding a research study on the work of RSUs. When it is completed its findings will have to be evaluated, along with other research and relevant evidence, before decisions can be taken about the ultimate capacity to be planned, either for RSU accommodation or for the wider range of facilities to cover the range of patients requiring different degrees of security and types of care (including, in particular, patients with chronic mental illness which is unlikely to respond to treatment and severely mentally handicapped patients, neither of which groups is appropriate for the RSU regime).