'Impressive' mental health schemes receive £800,000

The cash comes from a new £30m fund to deal with the problems caused by the disturbed nationwide.

There is also cash for Lancashire, Salford and Wigan among the 109 schemes in 83 local authorities announced by Health Secretary Stephen Dorrell today.

Bolton Council gets £467,055 over the next three years for three specialist projects.

The biggest grant is £256,687 for an Assertive Outreach Team. This will get £43,039 in the coming financial year, £106,824 in 1997/98 and another £106,824 in 1998/99. A Specialist Rehabilitation Project in Bolton will get £157,776 - £21,942 in the coming year and £67,917 in the two following years.

And a new Mental Health Service to Asian communities in the town is to get £52,592 - £7,314 in the coming year and £22,639 in the two following ones.

Bury Council is to get £260,212 for two projects.

A Supported Employment Scheme will get £130,212 - £1,492 in the coming year and £58,060 in the two following ones.

A Specialist Domiciliary Care Scheme is to get £130,000 - £30,000 in the coming year and £50,000 in the following two. Lancashire County Council will receive £516,398 for extension of the Outreach Service to day centres while Salford is to get £62,200 for a new Training/Education and Employment Scheme.

Wigan's Mental Health Support Team will receive £276,613 over the three years.

Mr Dorrell said these schemes reflected: "A flexibility and degree of innovation which is truly impressive."

And he announced that the current system whereby lay panels of managers could discharge compulsory detained mentally ill people was to be phased out.

Tough new guidelines will curtail the panels' powers before they are abolished.

That will leave only the more formal Mental Health Review Tribunals as a means of appeal against compulsory detention for mentally disordered patients.

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