Today is the second reading of the Mental Health bill in the Commons. This will replace the 1983 Mental Health Act, which has been in the pipeline for a long time. Understandably, mental health professionals and lobby groups are keen to make this bill as good as possible, seeing it will probably be in place for the next quarter of a century or more. However, despite some revisions since the draft bill in 2004, many of the revisions suggested by the scrutinising committee have not been incorporated.

The central issue is that by the second reading, the bill is supposed to be compliant with the Human Rights Act, and Mind, among other mental health charities and professional associations, argues that it isn’t. The proposals for compulsory Community Treatment Orders (CTOs), nicknamed ‘psychiatric Asbos’ as an alternative to sectioning in hospitals, have been criticised as trying to make up for inadequate mental health resources. CTOs would require people to stay within a geographical area, have regular contact with mental health professionals, keep taking their medication, and even have a curfew for when they have to be at home at night. If people don’t comply, they will be sectioned back to hospital.

Mind argue that if people are ill enough for this, they are ill enough to be in hospital, and suggest that it will deter mentally ill people from seeking help. There is a parallel here with this government’s treatment of other vulnerable groups such as detention without trial for asylum seekers. Unfortunately, mental health is the poor cousin in the health service which no-one wants to know about. This means it is all the more important that legislation protects vulnerable people. Scotland passed their Mental Health Act in 2003 which charities and psychiatrists have been generally approving of. The Welsh Assembly has passed a resolution saying that the Mental Health Bill is ‘deeply flawed’. Why can’t Westminster listen to the experts and take this opportunity for real, worthwhile reform?

Filed under: health on April 16th, 2007