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Mental Patients

Volume 87: debated on Tuesday 19 November 1985

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asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many patients have been detained under the Mental Health Act 1983; how many complaints were submitted to the Mental Health Act Commission about treatment of mental patients; and what findings arose from those complaints which were subsequently investigated.

Information is not available in the precise form requested. Numbers of compulsory admissions are collected centrally by calendar year. In the course of the year 1984, there were a total of 16,019 compulsory admissions to mental illness and mental handicap hospitals and units in England under the terms of the Mental Health Act 1983, and on 31 December 1984, 5,892 patients were detained under the Act. The yearly figure of 16,019 includes some patients admitted more than once.The Mental Health Act 1983 came into effect on 30 September 1983. Information about compulsory admissions between that date and the end of 1983 is not readily available but I will let the hon. Member have it as soon as it is available.On the question of complaints made to the Mental Health Act Commission, I refer the hon. Member to section 10 and appendix 2 of the commission's first biennial report (House of Commons paper 586) which was laid before the House on 22 October 1985.