STATISTICS ON FORMAL ADMISSIONS UNDER THE MENTAL HEALTH ACT 1983 PUBLISHED

1999/0643

STATISTICS ON FORMAL ADMISSIONS UNDER THE MENTAL HEALTH ACT 1983 PUBLISHED

The publication of information on patients formally detained in hospital under the Mental Health Act 1983 was announced today by the Department of Health

This bulletin is one of an annual series summarising information about people detained in NHS facilities, including high security psychiatric hospitals and private mental nursing homes under the 1983 Mental Health Act. It contains figures for the period 1988-89 to 1998-99.

The report''s key points include:

The number of formal admissions to hospital under the Act rose from 16,000 in 1988-89 to 27,100 in 1998-99.

89% of all formal admissions were to NHS hospitals under Part II of the Act.

The number of men formally admitted under Part II of the Act (Sections, 2, 3 and 4) to NHS facilities almost doubled between 1988-89 and 1998-99, from 6,200 to 12,300, whereas the number of women increased by about 48%, from 8,100 to 11,900 over the same period.

In 1998-99, 20,500 people were formally detained under the Act after admission to hospital as informal patients.

The rate of detentions in NHS hospitals under the Act (including detentions after admission) in 1998-99 in England was 95 per 100,000 population.

At 31 March 1999, there were 13,000 patients detained in hospital of which 1,300 were in high security psychiatric hospitals, 10,500 in other NHS facilities and 1,200 in private mental nursing homes.

Produced by the Government Statistical Service