§ Lord Ashley of Stokeasked Her Majesty's Government:
How many psychiatrists are employed by the National Health Service to work with profoundly deaf people; and how many of them are able to communicate using sign language;
How many NHS psychiatrists working with profoundly deaf people there are per 50,000 profoundly deaf people; and how this figure compares with psychiatrists working with hearing people; and
Which centres provide psychiatric help for profoundly deaf people; what services they provide; and their total cost.
§ Baroness CumberlegeInformation is not held centrally about the number of psychiatrists employed in the National Health Service who treat deaf people or who are able to communicate using sign language. There are four consultant psychiatrists who specialise in the treatment of mental disorders in prelingually deaf people. The three units which provide a specialist
22WAservice are at the Whittingham Hospital in Lancashire, the Springfield Hospital in London and the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham. A wide range of professional and support staff are employed at these units. Detailed information about these services and their cost is not held centrally.