§ Mr. GoodladTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) how many homeless persons in Northern Ireland have previously been admitted to hospital with a primary diagnosis of schizophrenia psychoses;
(2) how many homeless persons in Northern Ireland have previously been admitted to mental hospitals; and what this figure represents as a percentage of the total number of homeless persons in Northern Ireland;
(3) how many residential places in the community will be provided for those discharged from mental hospitals in Northern Ireland in each of the next seven years.
§ Dr. MawhinneyThis information is not available.
§ Mr. GoodladTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what experiments in hospital hostels for discharged mental patients have been conducted in Northern Ireland; what lessons have been learnt; and if he will make a statement.
§ Dr. MawhinneyHospital hostels are regarded as part of the psychiatric hospital provision and do not accommodate patients who have actually been discharged. The hostels cater for some patients as part of their rehabilitation programmes. Experimentation with rehabilitation programmes using hospital hostels and other types of facilities is conducted on a continuing basis.
§ Mr. GoodladTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list the amounts provided for the forthcoming year in Northern Ireland for bridging funds for local care of patients discharged or excluded from mental hospitals; how much in each case is provided for long-term patients still to be discharged from hospital and how much for those already discharged from hospital; what the figure per new patient is in each case; and if he will make a statement.
§ Dr. MawhinneyA total of £3.45 million in bridging finance is being allocated to health and social services boards in 1988–89. This consists of two amounts: £2.45 million continued funding for schemes identified by boards in 1987–88 and a further £1 million for new schemes.
These resources are intended primarily to assist in reducing the number of long-stay patients in psychiatric and mental handicap hospitals. However, some of this money will be spent on community facilities such as day hospitals which will also serve those outside hospital.
Bridging finance is only one source of funding for community care schemes, many of which will also involve the voluntary and private sectors. The initiative also involves a wide variety of schemes which are at different stages of development. As a result it is not yet possible to calculate overall costs for each patient involved.