The Best is the Enemy of the Good: The Mental Health Act 2001 (Part 2) (original) (raw)

The Best is the Enemy of The Good: The Mental Health Act 2001

International Journal of Mental Health and Capacity Law

This article examines the Mental Health Act 2001, which is now the main piece of mental health legislation in the Republic of Ireland. 2 The new Mental Health Tribunal system came into force on 1 November 2006, and the Act is now fully in force. The article is being published in two parts. This part deals with the new admission, detention, leave and transfer provisions. The second part, in the next issue of the Journal, examines the new safeguards: the Commission and the tribunals, and the consent to treatment procedures.

Mental health legislation in Ireland: a lot done, more to do

The journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law, 2012

Mental health legislation is necessary to protect the rights of people with mental disorders, a vulnerable section of society. Ireland's new Mental Health Act 2001 was fully implemented in 2006 with the intent of bringing Irish legislation more in line with international standards, such as the European Convention on Human Rights and United Nations Principles for the Protection of Persons with Mental Illness. The new legislation introduced several important reforms in relation to involuntary admission, independent reviews of involuntary detention, consent to treatment, and treatment of children and adolescents. It also presented significant challenges in terms of service delivery and resources within Irish mental health services. Both mental health service users and providers reported a range of difficulties with the new legislation. In this article, we analyze the Irish Mental Health Act focusing on the enhanced protection that it provides for patients, but also highlighting som...

Five years after implementation: A review of the Irish Mental Health Act 2001

2013

Objectives: The Mental Health Act 2001 (MHA 2001) was implemented in November 2006. Since that time, there has been considerable research into its impact, including the impact on service provision, use of coercive practices and the perceptions by key stakeholders. Our objective is to present a summary of research into the MHA 2001 since its implementation in the Irish state in the context of international standards and practice. Methods: We reviewed the literature presented on Medline and Google Scholar, directly assessed relevant journals and sought abstract information from the College of Psychiatry of Ireland. Results: There has been a small decrease in the rate of involuntary admission since implementation but there has been no change in the representativeness of diagnoses of individuals admitted involuntarily. Mental Health Tribunals were held for 57% of those admitted involuntarily and 46% of service users found that the Mental Health Tribunal made the involuntary admission easier to accept. One year after discharge, 60% of service users reflected that their involuntary admission had been necessary. Professional groups have expressed concerns regarding workload, training time for junior doctors and paperwork. Conclusions: The MHA 2001 has brought the practice of involuntary admission further into line with international standards. However, five years after the implementation of the Act international guidelines and practice have highlighted areas in need of further reform, including capacity legislation and consideration of advance directives and community treatment orders. Further research is also lacking on caregivers' or family members' perceptions of the MHA 2001.

Mental Capacity Act (Northern Ireland) 2016

BJPsych bulletin, 2017

Mental health legislation in Northern Ireland has always been separate from legislation in the rest of the UK; the Mental Health (Northern Ireland) Order (MHO) had been in place since 1986. In common with other jurisdictions, this legislation utilises the presence of mental disorder and risk as criteria for detention and involuntary treatment. The MHO has been replaced by the Mental Capacity Act (Northern Ireland) 2016 (MCA), an example of 'fusion' legislation in which impairment of decision-making capacity and best interests are the only criteria to be used when making decisions across health and social care. In this paper, we outline the development of the MCA to date, and discuss its potential to improve mental healthcare by placing the treatment of mental illness within the same legislative framework as physical illnesses.