Modernising the Mental Health Act: getting the balance right (original) (raw)
Related papers
Patterns of use of the Mental Health Act 1983
BJPsych Open, 2019
Trends in detention under the Mental Health Act 1983 in two major London secondary mental healthcare providers were explored using patient-level data in a historical cohort study between 2007–2008 and 2016–2017. An increase in the number of detention episodes initiated per fiscal year was observed at both sites. The rise was accompanied by an increase in the number of active patients; the proportion of active patients detained per year remained relatively stable. Findings suggest that the rise in the number of detentions reflects the rise of the number of people receiving secondary mental healthcare.
Medicine Science and The Law, 2010
This study aimed to retrospectively examine demographic and referral data for all detainees under Section 136 of the Mental Health Act (1983) at a 'place of safety' in one London Mental Health Trust over a three-year period. Data were collected for 887 consecutive detentions and indicated a clear over-representation of black detainees compared with their representation in the local population. A high proportion of detentions (41.2%) did not result in hospital admission. Implications for practice and service user experience should be considered as long as Section 136 remains an entry point to mental health services for many black people. There are implications for interprofessional practice where Mental Health Trust resources are expended supporting Section 136 detentions in which no hospital treatment follows.
Section 136 of the Mental Health Act: a new literature review
Medicine Science and The Law, 2010
Section 136 of the Mental Health Act 1983 (amended) provides police officers in the United Kingdom with the authority to remove individuals who appear to be suffering from a mental illness from any public place to a designated 'place of safety' for appropriate assessment. A considerable amount of research has been dedicated to investigate who is detained under this section and how it is implemented. A review of the literature revealed a high prevalence of schizophrenia, personality disorders and mania in individuals detained under Section 136 and an over-representation of black detainees. Several studies also reported poor communication between different agencies and poor levels of knowledge regarding the implementation of the section. There is a lack of qualitative research exploring detainee and professional experience of Section 136 and in particular the patient pathway to mental health care via Section 136 experienced by black detainees. Implications for clinical practice, multi-agency collaboration and future research are discussed.
BJPsych Open, 2019
Trends in detention under the Mental Health Act 1983 in two major London secondary mental healthcare providers were explored using patient-level data in a historical cohort study between 2007–2008 and 2016–2017. An increase in the number of detention episodes initiated per fiscal year was observed at both sites. The rise was accompanied by an increase in the number of active patients; the proportion of active patients detained per year remained relatively stable. Findings suggest that the rise in the number of detentions reflects the rise of the number of people receiving secondary mental healthcare.
The Mental Health Act Commission, Ninth Biennial Report, 1999–2001
International Journal of Mental Health and Capacity Law
The Commission was established in 1983, as a Special Health Authority, following publication of the Boynton Report. 1 The report recommended the creation of such a Commission, the functions of which 'might include ... the independent investigation of more serious complaints (from whatever source).' The Commission's statutory functions are much more limited than those exercisable by the Commissions in Scotland and Northern Ireland. Its main functions are to keep under review the way in which the powers and duties set out in the Mental Health Act 1983 are exercised in relation to people who are liable to detention; to arrange for persons to visit and interview detained patients; to investigate complaints within its jurisdiction; to perform the Secretary of State's consent to treatment functions under Part IV of the Act; and to review any high security hospital decisions to withhold post. Positives The biennial report is well presented and well written, and much of the credit here must go to Mat Kinton, one of the Commission's stars. It is a compassionate document, and gives an excellent summary of where mental health services stand. These features reflect the kindness, commitment and skill of its members, and of those who helped them to prepare the report. There is an excellent passage on the effects of the safety and security directions on patient care in the high security hospitals, and useful information about the Commission's survey of all ECT facilities in England and Wales. The output data published in the report provides incontrovertible evidence of the tremendous workload of underpaid but dedicated Commissioners.
2019
Trends in detention under the Mental Health Act 1983 in two major London secondary mental healthcare providers were explored using patient-level data in a historical cohort study between 2007-2008 and 2016-2017. An increase in the number of detention episodes initiated per fiscal year was observed at both sites. The rise was accompanied by an increase in the number of active patients; the proportion of active patients detained per year remained relatively stable. Findings suggest that the rise in the number of detentions reflects the rise of the number of people receiving secondary mental healthcare.
The law relating to detention on the basis of mental disorder and the tribunal at the centre of applications for release should be settled and certain, given that it involves deprivation of liberty and a vulnerable population, two factors that make it important that the law be clear. However, the vast (and growing) body of case law suggests that this is not so. In this context, the aim of this book is to collate important cases relating to the powers and procedures of the Mental Health Review Tribunal. The book is broken into different sections, each dealing with different areas of the Tribunal's substantive powers or issues of procedure that arise. Each section sets out a summary of the statutory position in the Mental Health Act 1983 and the MHRT Rules 1983 (and the full text of relevant parts of the Act and the Rules is set out in an appendix), followed by a series of propositions that have been established by the cases; there are then extracts from the relevant cases. These sections are set out in alphabetical order: so to find the case law relating to a particular issue, look down the list of different sections to find the relevant one. There is also a full index at the front, which refers to the relevant part of the statute or rules and, if there have been cases, the chapter of the text.