HC Deb 10 February 1995 vol 254 cc427-9W
Mr. Straw

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners have been diagnosed as mentally ill in each year since 1979; and how many of these have been transferred to NHS facilities.

Mr. Michael Forsyth

[holding answer 8 January 1995]: Responsibility for this matter has been delegated to the Director General of the Prison Service, who has been asked to arrange for a reply to be given.

Letter from Derek Lewis to Mr. Jack Straw, dated 10 February 1995: The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question about the number of prisoners diagnosed as mentally ill in each year since 1979 and how many of them were transferred to NHS facilities. The information sought in the first part of your Question is not available in the form requested. Since December 1991 Prison Service establishments have, however, been carrying out regular medical monitoring exercises. To monitor the assessed needs of mentally disordered prisoners information is collected and collated by the Directorate of Health Care on a periodical basis. On a given day prisoners who are considered by prison doctors to need some form of mental health care are categorised as follows:

  1. (a) prisoners requiring removal or transfer to a psychiatric hospital under Mental Health Act provisions and who are awaiting such transfer. This figure includes remand prisoners awaiting disposal by the court.
  2. (b) prisoners who are sufficiently ill to be occupying in-patient beds in prison health care centres; and
  3. (c) prisoners requiring some form of mental health care but not removal/transfer to psychiatric hospital or in-patient treatment in a prison health care centre.

Tables 1 to 3 enclosed show the numbers of mentally disordered prisoners recorded in each of the above categories over the period from December 1991 to September 1994.We do not yet know the precise reason for the fall from 802 to 331 in the number of mentally ill prisoners occupying in-patient beds in February and September 1994 but it is more than offset by the increase, from 1766 to 2598, in the number of such prisoners being cared for elsewhere within establishments.Table 4 enclosed gives the number of transfers to hospital from 1979 onwards under sections 47 and 48 of the Mental Health Act 1983, or their equivalents under the preceding legislation, sections 72 and 73 of the Mental Health Act 1959. This shows that there has been a marked increase in the number of transfers over the last 15 years, with more than double the number of transfers in 1994 when compared with 1990.

Table 1
The number of prisoners awaiting removal or transfer to a psychiatric hospital under Mental Health Act provisions, including remand prisoners awaiting disposal by the court.
December 1991 128
February 1992 92
April 1992 112
June 1992 101
August 1992 85
October 1992 107
December 1992 101
February 1993 123
May 1993 161
September 1993 104
February 1994 136
June 1994 174
September 1994 102

Table 2
The number of prisoners considered by prison doctors to be sufficiently mentally ill to occupy an in-patient bed in a prison health care centre.
December 1991 845
February 1992 671
April 1992 696
June 1992 557
August 1992 553
October 1992 563
December 1992 428
February 1993 415
May 1993 571
September 1993 663
February 1994 802
June 1994 684
September 1994 331

Table 3
The number of prisoners considered by prison doctors to require some form of mental health care but not removal/transfer to psychiatric hospital or in-patient treatment in a prison health care centre
December 1991 1,048
February 1992 1,515
April 1992 1,432
June 1992 1,696
August 1992 2,132
October 1992 1,963
December 1992 2,093
February 1993 2,343
May 1993 1,775
September 1993 1,664
February 1994 1,766
June 1994 1,921
September 1994 2,598

Table 4
Transfers of prisoners to hospital by direction of the Home Secretary under Sections 72 and 73 of the Mental Health Act 1959 and Sections 47 and 48 of the Mental Health Act 1983
After sentence S72/S47 Before sentence S73/S48 Total
1979 70 16 86
1980 87 19 106
1981 86 22 108
1982 85 18 103
1983 91 24 115
1984 108 47 155
1985 100 41 141
1986 107 53 160
1987 127 77 204
1988 121 85 206
1989 131 100 231
1990 156 181 337
1991 193 264 457
1992 230 380 610
1993 290 486 776
19941 234 512 746
1 Provisional figures.