Mental health law is concerned with the legislation governing the management and treatment of people with a mental disorder. It includes the detention and treatment of patients and covers consent to treatment, mental capacity, deprivation of liberty, human rights, and ethical issues. The law is necessary to safeguard the interests of the patients and also to protect the public from potentially serious harm from a mentally disordered offender. It is crucial that mental health practitioners understand the relevant legislation to ensure that they are practising within the realms of the law and also so that they can offer help and advice to patients and carers if required to do so. Mental health legislation is constantly evolving and there are always challenges and changes to existing legislation, so practitioners need to keep up to date with new statutory legislation and case law. An example of this is the Mental Health Act (MHA) 1983, which was amended by the MHA 2007, and amended again by the Health and Social Care Act 2012. In addition, the Mental Capacity Act 2005 was a new statute which came into force in 2007, alongside Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards. There are Codes of Practice for the MHA, the Mental Capacity Act, and the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards. These provide supplementary guidance on good practice. Mental health practitioners need to take account of the Codes of Practice in their work. Mental health law can be a complex and challenging area, even for the most knowledgeable and experienced practitioners. Most organizations will have an MHA administrator and/or a legal advisor who can provide advice and guidance in matters of uncertainty.
