§ Miss Emma NicholsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of research on the effect difficulties in childhood cause in adult life; and what assessment she has made of the role of child psychotherapists in this area.
§ Mr. YeoThere are some links between emotional disturbances in childhood and those occurring in adult life but these are sometimes weak and the relationship between the two is by no means simple. Although the treatment of disorders in children is sometimes claimed to prevent later adult psychiatric disorder, the evidence in support of this claim is not strong.
§ Miss Emma NicholsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the number of children in(a) residential and (b) day centres for children and young people with emotional or behavioural difficulties or both; what the average cost to maintain each young person is; and what is the cost of psychotherapy for such children.
§ Miss Emma NicholsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many child psychotherapy advisers are available to her Department.
§ Mr. YeoThere is no formally appointed adviser for child psychotherapy corresponding to the Chief Medical 351W Officer's consultant adviser in child psychiatry. Leading child psychotherapists are consulted as necessary. The Department itself employs a range of professional advisers in the field of mental health, including psychotherapy.
§ Miss Emma NicholsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many qualified child psychotherapists are practising in the United Kingdom(a) by region, (b) by health authority and (c) in the inner cities; and how many sessions are worked in each authority.
§ Mr. YeoThe latest available statistics showing the number of qualified child psychotherapists practising within the national health service in England, by region, and by district health authority are set out in the table. Information about the numbers of staff employed within the inner cities or the number of sessions worked in each health authority is not collected centrally.
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Child Psychotherapists employed in the National Health Service in England, as of 30 September 1991 England WTE1 Yorkshire 39.40 Hull 2.40 East Yorkshire 2.00 Grimsby 2.00 Scunthorpe 13.00 York 1.00 Harrogate 2.00 Calderdale 6.80 Dewsbury 7.20 Leeds Western 1.00 Yorkshire RHA HQ 2.00 North West Thames 72.80 North West Hertfordshire 10.00 Barnet 0.30 Harrow 10.00 Hillingdon 1.00 Riverside 29.50 Parkside 22.00 North East Thames 1.00 Bloomsbury and Islington 1.00 South West Thames 27.27 North West Surrey 3.00 West Surrey and North East Hampshire 1.90 South West Surrey 1.20 Mid Surrey 1.00 Mid Downs 4.80 Richmond. Twickenham and Roehampton 5.37 Wandsworth 9.00 Merton 1.00 Wessex 3.40 Portsmouth and South East Hampshire 3.40 West Midlands 1.00 South Birmingham 1.00 North Western 45.33 Lancaster 2.00 Blackpool, Fylde and Wyre 9.80 Preston 5.50 Blackburn, Hyndburn and Ribble Valley 1.00 West Lancashire 1–00 Bolton 1.00 North Manchester 12.63 Salford 3.30
England WTE1 Stockport 9.10 Trusts 13.00 St. James Hospital 21.00 North Hertfordshire 30.60 Mount Vernon 3l.00 Hillingdon Hospital 37.00 Lifecare 41.00 Manchester Central 52.40 SHAs 1.00 Hammersmith and Queen Charlotte's 1.00 Total 204.20 1 Whole Time Equivalents. 2 Yorkshire Region. 3 North West Thames Region. 4 South West Thames Region. 5 North Western Region. Source: National Health Service Non-Medical Manpower Census: HAP(STATS)B Department of Health.
Categories included in this figure are Child Psychotherapist (Group A), and Child Psychotherapist (Group B).
These figures are provisional.
§ Miss Emma NicholsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what arrangements she will make to meet the psychiatric needs of children living with disturbed family members, who have been released into the community from mental health institutions under the National Health Service and Community Care Act 1990.
§ Mr. YeoThe needs of individuals with psychiatric disturbance, whether or not recently discharged into the community, and of affected family members, including children, are the responsibility of district health authorities and social services departments. It is for these authorities to determine needs and to provide or purchase services accordingly.
§ Miss Emma NicholsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many national health service multi-disciplinary teams there are for child mental health based in child and family consultation centres; and how many such teams include a child psychotherapist.
§ Mr. YeoThe number of multi-disciplinary teams is not known centrally. Each district health authority is responsible for making provision to meet the mental health needs of children in its area, if necessary by purchasing services from another district. Where a local service does not employ a child psychotherapist, psychotherapeutic services may be provided by other members of the multi-disciplinary team such as child psychiatrists or clinical psychologists.
§ Miss Emma NicholsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the ability of the current provision of child psychotherapy to meet the demands for treatment of children and their families.
§ Mr. YeoAssessment of the need for child psychotherapy services is a matter for health authorities in the planning of district child mental health services. Psychotherapy is only one of a range of treatments which can be offered to children with mental disorders.
§ Miss Emma NicholsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the level of 353W demand for the services of child psychotherapists for teaching, supervision and consultation from other professionals working with children.
§ Mr. YeoIt is for the other professions involved to determine what contribution to the training and support of their members could usefully be made by child psychotherapists.
§ Miss Emma NicholsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many children and young people in the United Kingdom have psychological problems or disturbances assessed as requiring treatment from mental health specialists, including child psychotherapists.
§ Mr. YeoThe overall prevalence of mental health problems in the child and adolescent population is estimated at up to 20 per cent., with 7 to 10 per cent. having moderate to severe problems. Information about the numbers assessed as needing treatment from particular professional groups, is not held centrally.
§ Miss Emma NicholsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what function she envisages for child psychotherapists in the implementation of the aims of "Health of the Nation".
§ Mr. YeoThe White Paper on "The Health of the Nation" is expected to be published shortly. All health professionals will be expected to make an appropriate contribution to achieving its aims.