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Psychiatric And Geriatric Beds

Volume 951: debated on Tuesday 6 June 1978

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asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many beds are available in community hospitals for infirm and disabled elderly people; and how many health districts have no community hospital.

pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 12th May 1978; Vol. 949, c. 643–4], gave the following information:No statistics of community hospitals are collected centrally.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many beds are now available in district general hospital units for psychiatry and geriatrics; and how many health districts still do not have such units.

pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 12th May 1978; Vol. 949, c. 643–4], gave the following information:Figures are not collected centrally in terms of district general hospital units. In hospitals classified as acute, mainly acute and partly acute the numbers of psychiatric and geriatric beds are 7,531 and 18,044 respectively, There are 101 districts without psychiatry units and 32 without geriatric units in acute hospitals.

U.B.O.February 1976*February 1977February 1978
Ely300(50)300(60)300(60)
Downham Market300(40)200(130)100(50)†
March200(40)200(60)200(30)
Wisbech400(70)500(40)400(60)
Numbers in brackets are of claims made but not decided at date of return.
In February 19781 the numbers receiving supplementary benefit from the Cambridge and Peterborough§ offices of my Department were 10,000 and 12,000 respectively.

Notes:

* Figures for earlier years not now available.

† Numbers as at November 1977, the latest date for which information is available.

‡ Numbers receiving supplementary benefit from Cambridge and Peterborough I.L.O.'s not available for earlier years because of the effect of local office boundary changes.

§ The Cambridge and Peterborough offices cover most of Cambridgeshire for supplementary benefit purposes. A small part of Cambridgeshire is covered by the King's Lynn office, but it is not possible to identify separately the Cambridge residents claiming there.