§ Mr. DobbinTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to reduce the death rate from(a) suicide and (b) serious injury from accidents by 2010. [106160]
§ Mr. HuttonThe development of strategies to reduce suicide and serious injury from accidents are a major part of the Government's programme outlined in the White Paper "Saving Lives: Our Healthier Nation". The National Service Framework for Mental Health sets a specific
338W
Number of 24 hour staffed beds by Health Authority 1998–99 to 1999–2000 Health authority Region 1998–99 outturn 1999–2000 quarter 2 Bradford Northern and Yorkshire 10 10 Calderdale and Kirklees Northern and Yorkshire 278 278 Durham Northern and Yorkshire 0 29 East Riding Northern and Yorkshire 183 213 Gateshead and South Tyneside Northern and Yorkshire 8 8 Leeds Northern and Yorkshire 0 0 Newcastle and North Tyneside Northern and Yorkshire 153 165 North Cumbria Northern and Yorkshire 0 0 North Yorkshire Northern and Yorkshire 98 98 Northumberland Northern and Yorkshire 34 34 Sunderland Northern and Yorkshire 44 44 Tees Northern and Yorkshire 17 17 Wakefield Northern and Yorkshire 113 113 Barnsley Trent 0 0 Doncaster Trent 15 15 Leicestershire Trent 95 95 Lincolnshire Trent 0 0 North Derbyshire Trent 0 0 North Nottinghamshire Trent 0 0 standard for health and social services to prevent suicides. The forthcoming National Service Framework for Older People will include a section on the prevention of falls.
A high level national Task Force on accidents, accountable to the Chief Medical Officer, will be appointed shortly to ensure that the essential groundwork is in place to targets on accident prevention set out in the White Paper. In addition, we are in the process of bringing together the necessary expertise to work across Government to drive forward a whole range of initiatives to make progress towards achieving the targets to reduce suicide. We also provide funding for voluntary groups to support specific initiatives in both areas.