§ Mr. IllsleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if she intends to hold an investigation into the recent deaths of patients at Kneesworth psychiatric hospital.
§ Mr. IllsleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what action she intends to take to reduce the number of deaths of patients undergoing psychiatric care.
§ Mr. BowisIn the White Paper, "The Health of the Nation" we set a target to reduce the suicide rate of severely mentally ill people. A number of central initiatives designed to improve existing mental health services will complement local action to reduce the suicide rate among severely mentally ill people. These include the various measures in the ten point plan that we announced in August 1993 and the issue of the "Mental Illness Key Area Handbook" to all managers of national health service and local authority mental health services. The revised edition of the handbook provides a number of examples of interventions which may help to reduce suicide rates.
Many of the measures being taken to reduce deaths from suicide among severely mentally ill people should also help to reduce the number of other premature and preventable deaths of patients undergoing psychiatric care.