§ Mrs. Curtis-ThomasTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if doctors are required to consult parents and carers before making decisions affecting people with a severe learning disability. [158080]
§ Mr. HuttonThe Department has recently issued guidance to health professionals on the legal and good practice requirements for seeking valid consent from patients for proposed examinations or treatment—"Reference Guide to Consent for Examination or Treatment". Where an adult patient is mentally able to give or withhold consent to proposed treatment, consent must always be sought directly from the patient himself or herself. It is good practice to involve those close to the patient, such as family, carers and friends, in the decision-making process if the patient wishes for such involvement.
In some cases, patients may be so severely disabled that they are not able to give, or withhold, consent for a proposed examination or treatment. In such cases, health professionals may legally provide the treatment if it is in the patient's best interests to receive it. Although the health professional concerned is ultimately responsible for the decision as to whether or not treatment is in the patient's best interests, those close to the patient (parents, carers and others) should be fully involved in any discussions, unless the patient has made clear that particular individuals should not be involved in their care.
§ Mrs. Curtis-ThomasTo ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what percentage of women with learning difficulties over the age of 50 are eligible to receive breast screening services; [158093]
(2) what percentage of women with learning difficulties receive cervical cancer screening.[158092]
§ Mr. HuttonThe information requested is not held centrally. We recognise that in the past women with a learning disability may not have had the information and support they needed to decide whether or not to attend for breast or cervical screening. This is why the Department published good practice guidance for women and their families, supporters and health care professionals. The guidance was developed in consultation with women with a learning disability and was published in November 2000.
§ Mrs. Curtis-ThomasTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many day centres for people with learning difficulties have been closed in(a) 1997–98, (b) 1998–99, (c) 1999–2000 and (d) 2000–01.[158084]
§ Mr. HuttonInformation on closures of day centres is not collected centrally. Set out in the table are the numbers of day centres for people with learning disabilities during a survey week in September for 1995 to 1998 for England. Collection of data on numbers of day care centres ceased in 1998. 177W
Year Day centres for people with learning disabilities 1995 1,030 1996 1,020 1997 1,270 1998 12,600 1 For 1998 the figures also include the number of residential care homes which provide day care to non-residents. Source:
DH form DC3
§ Mrs. Curtis-ThomasTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what studies have been undertaken on the assistance that people with severe learning difficulties and their carers receive in order to take short-term breaks. [158090]
§ Mr. HuttonThe Department is not currently funding any research in this area.
The White Paper "Valuing People: A New Strategy for Learning Disability in the 21st Century", published on 20 March, confirmed that the Department will be funding a £2 million research initiative, "People With Learning Disabilities: Services, Inclusion, and Partnerships" starting later this year and lasting for four years. Research proposals are currently being considered; support for carers is a possible area of research.
§ Mrs. Curtis-ThomasTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people with learning disabilities are resident in long-stay hospitals. [158094]
§ Mr. HuttonApproximately 1,500 learning disabled people remain in long-stay places. Our recent White Paper "Valuing People: A New Strategy for Learning Disability for the 21st Century" includes a commitment to enable all people currently living in long-stay hospitals to move into more appropriate accommodation in the community by April 2004.
§ Mrs. Curtis-ThomasTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people with severe learning difficulties live with their parents.[158088]
§ Mr. HuttonInformation about the precise number of people with severe learning disabilities who live with their families is not held centrally. It is estimated that some 60 per cent. of all adults with learning disabilities live with their parents.
During 2001–02, the Department will commission a national survey of people with learning disabilities in contact with social services to improve our knowledge and provide a stronger baseline against which to evaluate the impact of the recently published White Paper, "Valuing people, a new strategy for learning disability for the 21st century".
§ Mrs. Curtis-ThomasTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people with learning difficulties do not have a day centre placement for(a) all and (b) part of the week. [158083]
§ Mr. HuttonOn 31 March 2000 an estimated 49,600 adults with learning disabilities were in receipt of day care services. Information is not available about how many people do not receive services.
§ Mrs. Curtis-ThomasTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent estimate he has made of the proportion of people with learning difficulties that have been sexually abused. [158078]
178W
§ Mr. HuttonInformation about the proportion of people with learning disabilities who have been sexually abused is not held centrally. The White Paper, "Valuing People, A new Strategy for Learning Disability for the 21st Century" says that local councils will need to ensure that learning disability services are represented on the local adult protection management committees, and that information about incidents of abuse of people with learning disabilities is gathered and recorded. This will improve our knowledge about the incidence of abuse.
§ Mrs. Curtis-ThomasTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many parents over the age of 60 years care for children with severe learning difficulties.[158089]
§ Mr. HuttonInformation about the precise number of parents over the age of 60 who care for their sons and daughters with severe learning disabilities is not held centrally. It is estimated that a third of people with learning disabilities living in the family home are living with an older carer (aged 70 or over).
In the recently published White Paper, "Valuing people, a new strategy for learning disability for the 21 century" we announced our intention to introduce a performance indicator, percentage of carers aged 70 or over for whom a person centred plan, which has been agreed. This will be monitored as part of the arrangements for monitoring the White Paper.