Oral Answers to Questions

Paul Maynard Excerpts

Tuesday 7th December 2010 Commons Chamber

[Paul Burstow]

First and foremost, the hon. Lady should welcome the fact that this will provide opportunities for the greater integration of services, and that is a key way in which we can deliver better outcomes for her constituents and others up and down the country.

[Paul Maynard (Blackpool North and Cleveleys) (Con)]

16. How many patients in psychiatric care died of natural causes in the last five years.

[The Minister of State, Department of Health (Paul Burstow)]

Information on the number of people in psychiatric care who died of natural causes is not available. However, information about patients detained under the Mental Health Act is collected by the Care Quality Commission. The most recent information, covering the period 2005 to 2008, shows that there were 1,392 deaths of detained patients, of which 1,123 were ascribed to natural causes.

[Paul Maynard]

I thank the Minister for that reply. Does he share my concern that, almost uniquely in psychiatric care the state has a large degree of control over an individual’s circumstances, yet, unlike in prison or police custody, deaths from natural causes do not have to be reported to the coroner or be the subject of an inquest? Does he not think that the time has now come to end that disparity and to shed some light on to the real reasons behind many of the deaths from natural causes in psychiatric care?

[Paul Burstow]

My hon. Friend might be interested to know that the Ministry of Justice is reviewing sections of the Coroners and Justice Act 2009 and how they will be implemented. That review will include the subject of how deaths are reported to coroners. In fact, the statutory requirements to report deaths of mental health patients to coroners are the same as those for other patients, and NHS providers must report deaths of service users that occur during, or as a result of, care or treatment that they are providing.