§ Mrs. DunwoodyTo ask the Secretary of State for Health when she will implement the 10-point plan for supervised discharge of mental health patients set out in the report of the mental health nursing review team.
§ Mr. BowisMy right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health announced our 10-point plan to reinforce community care for mentally ill people on 12 August 1993, following the Department's internal review of legal powers in this area.
We have made substantial progress on the matters covered by the plan. Following wide consultation we shall be introducing legislation as soon as possible to give effect to the review team's proposals for a new power of supervised discharge and for extending the present Mental Health Act provision for leave of absence.
The revised Mental Health Act code of practice was published at the end of August.
Draft guidance on the discharge of psychiatric patients from hospitals, and their continuing care in the community, was issued for consultation on 12 January. We are now considering more than 250 comments received on the draft and will be issuing the definitive guidance shortly.
76WGuidance on the development of supervision registers for the most vulnerable patients was issued in February and health authorities were required to introduce these registers from 1 April.
As part of our programme to improve training for key workers with mentally ill people, we held a successful conference in London on 3 March, at which I gave the keynote address.
The clinical standards advisory group is on schedule with its review of standards of care for people with schizophrenia, on which it expects to report to Ministers in December.
The mental health task force has been reinforced to carry out a special review of mental health services in the London implementation zone. This work is being jointly led by the head of the task force, Mr. David King, and Dr. Peter Kennedy who has been seconded from his post as chief executive of the York health services trust. The team will be working with district health authorities and other agencies to develop short and long-term action plans, and will be reporting to Ministers on progress against the plans and any issues requiring action in the longer term.
We attach a very high priority to services for mentally ill people and will maintain the vigorous action we have been taking in these and other areas to develop and improve them still further.