Vol. 411 No. 7
178 Mr. R. Bruton asked the Minister for Health the number of persons with mental handicap waiting for service in each of the health boards with a breakdown showing those waiting (a) for a residential place (b) for a day care place (c) for a training place and (d) for a sheltered employment place.
The report of the Review Group on Mental Handicap Services — Needs and Abilities details the number of day and residential places required to meet the needs of the mental handicap population. The Government have accepted the recommendations of that report and are committed to their implementation.
I have asked each health board to prepare a seven year plan for the development of mental handicap services.
These plans will quantify the extent of unmet needs in each health board area. The provision of sufficient day and residential places for people with mental handicap is one of the priorities to be addressed in these plans.
