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HEALTH

Ashworth Hospital

Mr. Bermingham : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he proposes to take to ensure that the complaints procedure at Ashworth hospital is one that the patients can have complete confidence in.

Mr. Dorrell : One of the Special Hospitals Service Authority's tasks in its current action plan, agreed in last year's ministerial review of the authority's performance, is to design and implement a revised complaints procedure. The authority has informed me that a formal policy and statement of principles have now been agreed and that the detailed procedures are being finalised. It intends to implement the new procedures from 1 June 1991. Apart from these internal arrangements, the Mental Health Act Commission has statutory responsibilities under section 120 (1) of the Mental Health Act 1983 for investigating complaints made by, or in respect of, patients detained under the Act. Commissioners make regular visits, as the Act requires, to Ashworth and other hospitals where patients are detained.

Patient Statistics

Mr. Trotter : To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he will give the number of in-patients, out-patients and day-patients treated in the northern region in 1980, 1985 and 1990, together with the percentage change.

Mr. Dorrell : The information available is given in the table. It is not possible to make a direct comparison of in-patient treatments between 1989-90 and earlier years. Following implementation of the Korner reports on health service information, the basis of counting in-patient treatments was changed in 1988-89 to reflect the number of individual episodes of care under a consultant. The old and new methods of counting in-patients were both used during 1988-89 in order to provide continuity in time series comparisons.

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Column 15

Northern Regional Health Authority                               

Year         |In-patients |Out-patients|Day cases                

-----------------------------------------------------------------

1980         |393,788     |2,338,383   |54,023                   

1985         |433,131     |2,543,549   |75,473                   

1989-90      |504,743     |2,522,192   |96,243                   

Notes:                                                           

The 1980 and 1985 in-patient figures are discharges and deaths.  

The 1989-90 figures are finished consultant episodes.            

For 1988-89 the information on in-patients was collected under   

both headings: there were                                        

461,033 discharges and deaths and                                

496,617 finished consultant episodes.                            

Source:                                                          

SH3 for 1980 and 1985.                                           

KP70 for in-patients and day cases 1989-90.                      

KHO9 for out-patients 1989-90.