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19 Sept 2002 : Column 388W—continued
Children's Hospices
Mr. Keith Bradley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the children's hospices in the North West region; and what grant from his Department was allocated to each children's hospice in each of the last five years. [69404]
Ms Blears [holding answer 12 July 2002]: There are five children's hospices in the North West of England:
Zoe's Place, Liverpool (baby hospice);
Francis House, Manchester; and
The Department has never awarded grants to children's hospices. The level of National Health Service funding is for primary care trusts to determine, as part of their health improvement programmes, in consultation with their local partners.
However, the New Opportunities Fund invited applications to participate in a £48 million children's palliative care programme in England, of which £15.3 million is specifically available to promote high quality provision within children's hospices. The closing date for applications was 16 August and applicants will be informed of the outcome in January 2003.
Child Care Co-ordinators
Mr. Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of NHS trusts have a child care co-ordinator. [68284]
Mr. Hutton [holding answer 10 July 2002]: There are at least eighty National Health Service child care co-ordinators in post throughout the NHS, and recruitment is continuing. Childcare co-ordinators may cover one trust, a number of trusts, or the whole local health economy, including the primary care trusts. We expect that by April 2003, all NHS staff will have access to the services of a childcare co-ordinator to offer support and advice to parents working in the NHS.
Children (Prescriptions)
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what information is given to individual carers about the type of prescriptions provided to children in care. [71738]
Jacqui Smith [holding answer 22 July 2002]: We have issued National Minimum Standards across the range of children's services. The standards for fostering services, which accounts for two thirds of all children in care, state that the carer should be provided with a written health record for each child placed in their care, and that this should be updated during the period of the placement. In addition, before a placement begins, the carer should be provided with as full a description as possible of the health needs of a child and clear procedures governing consent for the child to receive medical treatment. Where it is an agency placement, the responsible authority should
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pass the information on to the agency, who in turn passes it on to the carer. Similar arrangements apply to those placed in children's homes.
Health and Social Care Inspectorate
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if the National Care Standards Commission and the Social Services Inspectorate will be abolished and their functions transfered to the Health and Social Care Inspectorate. [72150]
Jacqui Smith [holding answer 23 July 2002]: As my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State announced on 19 April, we plan to set up two new independent inspectorates, the Commission for Healthcare Audit and Inspection and the Commission for Social Care Inspection. These new bodies will further strengthen the system for inspecting health and social care, ensure clearer public accountability and rationalise the number of bodies regulating health and social care.
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The Commission for Social Care Inspection will create a single comprehensive Inspectorate for social care, bringing together the inspection functions of the social services inspectorate, including a number of their function with the Audit Commission, and the National Care Standards Commission (NCSC) and including the regulation of social care providers. The NCSC and the social services inspectorate will continue with their existing work until the new body goes live.
Social Workers
Mr. Woodward: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many social workers per 1,000 population there were in (a) St Helens, (b) Merseyside, (c) the North West and (d) England in each year since 1996. [71280]
Jacqui Smith [holding answer 23 July 2002]: The table below shows the whole-time equivalent number of social work staff (including care managers) per 1,000 population as at 30 September for each year between 1996 and 2001 for St. Helens, Merseyside, the North West excluding Merseyside and England as a whole.
| Social work staff 1 (whole-time equivalent) per 1,000 population | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. Helens | 0.5 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 0.7 | 0.6 |
| Merseyside | 0.8 | 0.8 | 0.7 | 0.8 | 0.8 | 0.7 |
| North-West (excluding Merseyside) | 0.6 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 0.7 |
| England | 0.7 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 0.7 |
1 Includes care managers
2 2000 population figures used as these are the latest available
Sources: Form SSDS001, annual return of local authority social services departments staff and Office for National Statistics population figures
Prisoners' Mental Health
Dr. Evan Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Oxford, West and Abingdon of 15 July 2002, Official Report, column 125W, on mental health, what information is held on the mental health of inmates in British prisons; and if he will make it available. [72422]
Jacqui Smith: Information on the mental health of prisoners in England and Wales is contained in the report of a survey of psychiatric morbidity among prisoners carried out by the Office for National Statistics in 1997, a copy of which is available in the Library. Information on the mental health of prisoners in Scotland and Northern Ireland is a matter for the devolved administrations.
Mental Health
Mr. Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what action he is taking to encourage the use of technology in improving dementia care. [61342]
Jacqui Smith [holding answer 17 June 2002]: Passive personal alarm systems and other such technology that detects unusual patterns of domestic activity, wandering and unlit gas are a useful addition to the field of dementia care. Use may reduce or postpone admissions to residential or nursing care and can improve the quality of life for carers. Every opportunity is taken by Ministers and officials to encourage the spread of such technology as part of the funded national project to integrate community equipment services by 2004 and to increase the number of people benefiting from these services by 50 per cent.
Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average time was for appeals to mental health review tribunals to be heard in each region in the most recent year for which information is available. [65794]
Jacqui Smith: There are three separate categories that Mental Health Review Tribunal's fall into: Section 2, Non-Restricted and Restricted. The section 2 target is a statutory target.
Section 2 tribunals must be heard within 7 days of the application being received in the office.
Non-restricted cases are listed as speedily as possible but no earlier than 3 weeks after receipt because the Responsible Authority has three weeks under the provisions of the Mental Health Act 1983 in which to provide reports for the Tribunal. Before October 2001, the non-restricted tribunals were required to be listed within 8 weeks of the application being received in the office. Subsequent case law requires the tribunal to be less rigid, and to list speedily taking into account the circumstances of individual cases
Restricted cases must be heard within 20 weeks of the application being received in the office. Timing of listed appeals:
The average time for appeals to be heard between July 2001-June 2002 and is divided into the four regions. North London and East Region Section 2—9 days Non-Restricted—7.2 weeks Restricted—18.2 weeks South London, South and West Region Section 2—8.3 days Non-Restricted—8.4 weeks Restricted—18 weeks
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- West Midland and North West Region
Section 2—6.1 days
Non-Restricted—7.5 weeks
Restricted—19.6 weeks
Trent, Northern and Yorkshire Region
Section 2—6.3 days
Non-Restricted—7.8 weeks
Restricted—19.4 weeks
National Averages
Section 2—7.4 days
Non-Restricted—7.7 weeks
Restricted—18.8 weeks
Jacqui Smith [holding answer 8 July 2002]: Officials from the Department are involved in the Social Exclusion Unit's current projects and meet on a regular basis, seeking to ensure that these reflect the needs of mental health service users
Mr. Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the Newcastle Declaration made on 25 June in respect of mental health and its treatment. [68047]
Mr. Hutton: The launch of the first year strategy for the National Institute for Mental Health in England in Newcastle on 25 June brought together professionals and service users to show their support for the work being prepared on early intervention services. Discussions have formed the basis of the Newcastle Declaration which emphasises the high levels of care for people in the early stages of psychosis.
The Declaration is now being taken forward to an International Conference in Copenhagen in the Autumn and is a sign of the broad support for the conventions taken forward.
Mr. Woodward: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much spending there was on mental health services in (a) St Helens and Knowsley Health Authority, (b) Merseyside, (c) the North West and (d) England in each year since 1996; and what the projected amounts are for (i) 2002 and (ii) 2003. [71282]
Jacqui Smith [holding answer 23 July 2002]: The data for 1996–97 to 2000–01 are shown in the table below. Projections are not available.
| St Helens | Merseyside | North West | England £'000 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996–97 | 16,287 | 57,643 | 350,192 | 2,648,191 |
| 1997–98 | 17,066 | 63,037 | 365,286 | 2,767,036 |
| 1998–99 | 19,684 | 72,595 | 395,425 | 2,925,934 |
| 1999–2000 | 21,485 | 81,780 | 454,238 | 3,445,341 |
| 2000–01 | 24,105 | 144,293 | 546,979 | 3,952,618 |
Figures are secondary mental illness expenditure by the health authority and, for 2000–01, by PCTs.
Sources:
Health authority audited accounts 1996–97 to 1998–99;
Health authority audited summarisation forms 1999–2000 and 2000–01;
Primary care trust audited summarisation schedules 2000–01.
Notes:
Merseyside includes St Helens and Knowsley, Sefton and Liverpool health authorities.
Sefton included £63 million mental illness expenditure in 2000–01, when it was the lead commissioner for secure mental health services in the North West region. This explains the large increase in the Merseyside figures for 2000–01.
North West includes the 16 health authorities.
Primary mental illness expenditure is not separately identified in the accounts/summarisation schedules.
19 Sept 2002 : Column 392W
Mrs. Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much funding is available for (a) mental health services and (b) mental health counselling services in Buckinghamshire in the current financial year; what the corresponding figures were, adjusted for inflation, in 2000–01; and if he will make a statement. [72596]
Ms Blears [holding answer 23 July 2002]: The Government is committed to the delivery of effective mental health services for those people who need them. The NHS Plan built on the national framework for mental health by providing for extra investment of over £300 million by 2004.
The information requested is held at health authority and primary care trust level.
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health in what format his Department holds information regarding the (a) number of acute psychiatric beds, (b) occupancy rate and (c) delayed discharge from these beds. [71947]
Jacqui Smith [holding answer 22 July 2002]: Information regarding the number of hospital beds and occupancy rate is collected annually via the Department's collection from KHO3 "Bed Availability and Occupancy". The form requests availability and occupancy of beds in wards open overnight by ward classification. A section for information on mental illness is split into three parts: children—short stay, long stay, elderly—short stay, long stay and other ages—secure unit, short stay, long stay.
The resulting data is published on the Department's website at www.doh.gov.uk/hospitalactivity/
Information on delayed discharge from these beds is not collected.
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