HC Deb 17 October 1995 vol 264 cc198-200W
Mr. Ieuan Wyn Jones

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is his Department's assessment of the potential value of a national awareness week focusing on attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and similar conditions; and if he will make a statement. [36648]

Mr. Bowis

I am advised that it is unlikely that attention deficit hyperactivity disorder would benefit from presentation in this way.

Mr. Ieuan Wyn Jones

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list for each of the last three years(a) the total amount estimated to have been spent on mental health treatment and (b) the total amount estimated to have been spent in treating children diagnosed as suffering from attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, indicating in each case the percentage of each item as a proportion of the total health budget; and if he will make a statement. [36651]

Mr. Bowis

The available information on the amount spent on mental health treatment is shown in the table.

Information on the amount spent on treating children diagnosed as suffering from attention deficit hyperactivity disorder is not available centrally.

Mental illness expenditure cash prices£ million Mental illness expenditure 1993–94 prices£ million Mental illness as a proportion of total hospital and community health services expenditure Percentage
1991–92 2,185.3 2,341.8 11.58
1992–93 2,350.30 2,422.2 11.56

  1. 1. Final figures for 1993–94 are not yet available.
  2. 2. The gross domestic product deflator was used to calculate the 1993–94 prices.
  3. 3. The mental illness expenditure is made up of the following:
    1. (a) in-patient and outpatient expenditure—the consultant specialities of mental illness, child and adolescent psychiatry, forensic psychiatry, physiotherapy and old age psychiatry.
    2. (b) day patient expenditure—in the categories, mental illness (alcoholism, drug abuse, psychogeriatrics and general), child and adolescent psychiatry and forensic psychiatry.
  4. 4. Expenditure figures for 1991–92 onwards are not comparable with earlier years due to changes in national health service accountancy practices.

Mr. Ieuan Wyn Jones

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will issue guidelines to assist head teachers and social workers in providing for the medical problems of hyperactive children; and if he will make a statement. [36652]

Mr. Bowis

Children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder who are regarded as having special educational needs should be assessed on an individual basis by a team of appropriately trained professionals, as provided for in the code of practice on the identification and assessment of special educational needs issued last year by the Department for Education and Employment and the Welsh Office.

Mr. Ieuan Wyn Jones

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is his assessment of the linkage between long-term addictive tendencies and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder; and if he will make a statement. [36656]

Mr. Bowis

Some research suggests that children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder may have an increased risk of developing further problems later in childhood and in adolescence, including substance abuse. The nature of any such linkage is, however, not yet clear.

Mr. Ieuan Wyn Jones

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what advice his Department provides for adoptive parents who discover that their adopted child is affected by attention deficit disorder or similar condition; and if he will make a statement. [36657]

Mr. Bowis

Advice for parents, whether adoptive or otherwise, is a matter for professional consideration in each individual case.

Mr. Ieuan Wyn Jones

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the appropriateness of conventional family therapy in the case of families in which one or more children are affected by attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. [36658]

Mr. Bowis

Family therapy may play a part in a comprehensive treatment programme which may also include medication and other interventions. With young children and in milder forms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, family therapy may be an appropriate and effective approach on its own—for example, if focused on enhancing parenting skills and helping the child learn strategies to improve concentration.