§ Mr. DarlingTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is his estimate of the number of private sector long-term residential places for elderly people in Scotland in 1995 and in 2000; and if he will make a statement. [23159]
§ Lord James Douglas-Hamilton[holding answer 9 May 1995]: The number of private sector residential care home places which will be required for elderly people in the year 2000 cannot be estimated as it will depend on a number of factors. These include not only the numbers of elderly people at that time and their state of health but the extent to which this form of care is available in other sectors. Cost and quality of residential care will influence the distribution between sectors. At present, the cost of care in homes run by local authorities is substantially more than in homes in the private and voluntary sectors. However, there is no indication that the quality of local authority care is higher. The numbers of residential care home places for elderly people in each sector in Scotland and England at 31 March 1994 are set out in the table below.
87W
Average available beds by Health Board area of treatment; quarter ending 31 December 1994 1 2 Geriatric long-stay beds Young chronic sick beds Psychiatric speciality total beds Mental handicap total beds Scotland3 7,393 290 10,964 3,398 Argyll and Clyde 614 38 1,094 226 Ayrshire and Arran 460 — 651 132 Borders 141 3 239 5
Average available beds by Health Board area of treatment; quarter ending 31 December 1994 1 2 Geriatric long-stay beds Young chronic sick beds Psychiatric speciality total beds Mental handicap total beds Dumfries and Galloway 256 — 367 86 Fife 432 12 685 302 Forth Valley 506 — 612 523 Grampian 742 24 1,041 296 Greater Glasgow 1,392 131 2,117 660 Highland 308 7 399 106 Lanarkshire 699 19 990 440 Lothian4 1,080 33 1,658 435 Orkney 49 — — — Shetland 81 — — — Tayside 587 22 1,059 186 Western Isles 44 — 51 — Notes: 1 Provisional. 2 Includes Joint User and Contractual hospitals. 3 Health Board totals may not tally with Scotland totals due to the effects of rounding. 4 Average available staffed beds. Includes all beds whether classified as long-stay or otherwise. Source:
Information and Statistics Division.
There are no centrally imposed targets for long-stay bed provision in the NHS for the year 2000. The pace of change in the number of long-stay NHS beds is directed by patient needs and by the rate at which alternative provision becomes available in the community. The organisation of long-stay care and care services in the community are determined by continuous joint assessment of local needs involving health boards and local authorities. The aim is to secure the most effective package of services, both in hospital and the community, that meet the specific needs of patients and carers.