The Government remain committed to reducing the number of bed days for under 16s on adult psychiatric wards to zero. The number of bed days for 16 and 17-year-olds on adult psychiatric wards has fallen in preparation for the commencement of section 31(3) (accommodation, etc) of the Mental Health Act 2007 in England on 1 April 2010.
The Mental Health Act 2007 (Commencement No. 11) Order 2010 (SI 2010 No. 143), which commences section 31(3) in England and Wales on 1 April 2010, was signed on 16 January 2010. This provision, which extends to England and Wales, places a duty on hospital managers to ensure that patients aged under 18 are treated in an environment in hospital which is suitable having regard to their age (subject to their needs).
The hospital manager has to consult a person who appears to them to have knowledge or experience of cases involving patients who have not attained the age of 18. This provision applies to voluntary (informal) patients as well as formal (detained under mental health legislation) patients.
It is important to note that section 31(3) is designed to end the inappropriate placement of under 18s on adult psychiatric wards but does not bar under 18s from being treated on such wards. There can be circumstances
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where an adult psychiatric ward is an appropriate place for an under 18 to be treated. Examples include overriding emergency and atypical where the adult psychiatric ward is the most appropriate placement for clinical or social reasons.
A number of best practice products have been produced to support local areas prepare and these are at:
www.nmhdu.org.uk/tags/?tag=children
Mental Health: Alcoholic Drinks
Mr. Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many new diagnoses of (a) depression and (b) dementia there were in the last year for which figures are available; and in how many such cases the consumption of alcohol was a direct causal factor. [316283]
Phil Hope: Data are not collected centrally on the number of newly diagnosed cases of depression or dementia in any given year, nor are data collected centrally on the proportion of alcohol-related cases of depression or dementia.
Musgrove Park Hospital Taunton
Mr. Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how long on average a person attending the Accident and Emergency Department at Musgrove Park Hospital, Taunton, waited to be seen by a member of the medical staff in 2009. [315984]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: The information is not available in the format requested. Such information as is available is in the following table.
| Total time spent at accident and emergency (A&E) departments from arrival to discharge, Taunton and Somerset NHS Foundation Trust: Type 1 departments (consultant-led, major departments) | |||||||
|
| Quarter | 0-1 hours | 1-2 hours | 2-3 hours | 3-4 hours | >4 hours | Total attendances |
Information on the average length of stay by hour, 2008-09 is in Table 1.
Information on the number of A&E attendances recorded in Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) and quarterly monitoring of accident and emergency (QMAE), 2008-09 is in Table 2.
Notes:
1. Information on waiting times in A&E facilities is collected by the Department for its QMAE dataset. Trusts do not submit information on average waiting times, but they do submit information on time spent from arrival to admission, transfer or discharge in hourly time bands.
2. A&E Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) data are not based on the same data definitions as those used for the quarterly QMAE central return. The A&E HES data are at patient level and are sourced from the A&E commissioning data set while the QMAE data is based on a Department of Health aggregate data collection and is published by the Department.
3. The arrival and departure times differ between A&E HES and QMAE. The A&E HES data may include time spent within A&E after the clinical episode has been concluded but before the patient has obtained family or private transport from the A&E department. QMAE remains the official source of information on A&E attendances and performance on the 4-hour standard. The NHS Plan sets out that no one should wait more than four hours in A&E from arrival to admission, transfer or discharge. To allow for exceptional circumstances, the operational standard of 98.0 per cent. has been adopted.
Source:
Department of Health—QMAE dataset
| Table 1: Average length of stay by hour of arrival, 2008-09 | ||
| Average stay in minutes (duration to departure) | ||
| Hour of arrival | Taunton and Somerset NHS Foundation Trust | All providers in A&E HES data for 2008-09 |
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| Source: HES | ||
Mr. Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the most recent patient satisfaction ratings were for the Pain Management Department at Musgrove Park Hospital, Taunton. [316021]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: The information requested is a matter for Taunton and Somerset NHS Foundation Trust. We have written to Rosalinde Wyke, Chair of Taunton and Somerset NHS Foundation Trust, informing her of the hon. Member's inquiry. She will reply shortly and a copy of the letter will be placed in the Library.
Home Department
Animal Experiments: Primates
Mr. Drew:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the longest recorded journey time was for non-human primates imported from (a) China,
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(b)
Mauritius,
(c)
Indonesia,
(d)
the Philippines,
(e)
Vietnam and
(f)
Israel into the UK for research purposes in (i) 2008 and (ii) 2009. [316436]
Meg Hillier: In accordance with measures introduced in 1996, the Home Office requires an estimated total journey time to be provided prior to each acquisition of non-human primates and, after each acquisition, confirmation is required that the importation was in accordance with what had been authorised. There is no obligation for licence holders to provide a detailed journey record or a precise total journey time to the Home Office.
According to our records, the longest journey times, estimated and confirmed, for non-human primates imported into the United Kingdom for research purposes from each of the countries listed in 2008 and 2009 were as set out in the following table:
| Hours | ||
|
| 2008 | 2009 |
| (1) No imports. | ||
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many primates were imported into the UK for the purposes of scientific research in (a) 2008 and (b) 2009; and from which countries. [316438]
Meg Hillier: Details of non-human primates imported into the UK for the purposes of scientific research in (a) 2008 and (b) 2009 are as set out in the following table:
| Import of non-human primates for the purpose of scientific research | ||
| Total imported | ||
| Country | 2008 | 2009 |
| (1 )The non-human primates imported from France were a one-off import from a centre regulated by the French Government which does not routinely supply animals to the UK. | ||