§ Mr. PikeTo ask the Secretary of State for Health when he last met representatives of the black and ethnic minority communities to discuss mental health treatment. [81411]
§ Mr. HuttonI held a meeting with representatives of black and minority ethnic interests on 31 March 1999 to discuss the development of the Mental Health National Service Framework.
§ Mr. PikeTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of the NHS budget was allocated to mental health services for each of the last three years. [81412]
§ Mr. HuttonA national weighted capitation formula is used as the basis for allocating hospital and community health services revenue to health authorities. The purpose of the formula is to set targets to enable the equitable distribution of resources based on the health care requirements of different resident populations. This cannot be broken down into a mental health component.
The proportion of total health authority expenditure spent on mental illness was 9.24 per cent. for 1997–98, 8.38 per cent. for 1996–97 and 11.44 per cent. for 1995–96.
§ Mr. PikeTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what advice he has given to health authorities regarding mental health treatment for members of the black and ethnic minority communities. [81410]
§ Mr. HuttonAdvice sent to health authorities on mental health treatment applies equally to all users of mental health services, whatever their ethnic origin.
The Government's strategy document "Modernising Mental Health Services: safe, sound and supportive" makes clear the Government's commitment to ensuring that everyone with mental health problems is treated fairly, on the basis of need, in a manner which preserves their autonomy and which promotes opportunity for choice. This document was distributed to every health authority in December 1998.
§ Mr. PikeTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the principal advances in treatment which have been implemented in mental health since 1995. [81413]
§ Mr. HuttonInformation about the advances in treatments for those with mental health problems is available in the academic literature. An example of this is the collation of the latest research by the Cochrane Group, copies of which are available in the Library.
The Cochrane Library is a regularly updated library designed to give the evidence needed for informed health care decision making. Launched in 1995 under the name of The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, it has been renamed to reflect the inclusion of further important databases.
The Cochrane Controlled Trials Register is a bibliography of over 150,000 controlled trials identified by contributors to the Cochrane Collaboration and others including many trials not currently listed on Medline or other bibliographical databases.
§ Mr. PikeTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many mental health patients were treated on the NHS over the last five years. [81414]
544W
§ Mr. HuttonThe table shows the estimated number of finished consultant episodes (FCEs) under a mental health1 specialty in National Health Service trusts in England, 1993–94 to 1997–98.
1Mental Health specialties are as follows: mental handicap; mental illness; child and adolescent psychiatry; forensic psychiatry; psychotherapy; old age psychiatry.
Year Estimated number of FCEs under a mental health specialty 1993–94 293,720 1994–95 295,470 1995–96 297,510 1996–971 263,550 1997–981 244,090 1 Data for these years are provisional; final figures are likely to be higher due to adjustments for shortfalls in data.