An Analysis of When Absconders from Mental Hospitals in England and Wales May Be Retaken

1998 ◽  
Vol 38 (1) ◽  
pp. 17-27 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjamin Andoh
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
England And Wales ◽  
Mental Hospitals ◽  
Statutory Authority ◽  
Mental Health Patients

Clear statutory authority for retaking absconders from mental hospitals has always existed since county asylums, the forerunners of mental hospitals, were first built in the nineteenth century. This article analyses the period within which such absconders may be retaken. It considers both offenders and non-offenders who abscond or go absent without leave and looks critically at the concept of ‘discharge by operation of law', a rule of practice (rather than a statutory rule) now eradicated by s.2(1) of the long overdue Mental Health (Patients in the Community) Act 1995.

Jurisprudential Aspects of the ‘Right’ to Retake Absconders from Mental Hospitals in England and Wales

1995 ◽  
Vol 35 (3) ◽  
pp. 225-230
Author(s):  
Benjamin Andoh
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Mental Hospital ◽  
Hospital Staff ◽  
England And Wales ◽  
Mental Hospitals ◽  
Mental Health Act ◽  
Statutory Authority ◽  
The Right

Statutory authority for retaking absconders from mental hospitals has existed ever since county asylums (the forerunners of mental hospitals) were first built in the nineteenth century. Today under the Mental Health Act, 1983 that ‘right’ can be exercised by the police, mental hospital staff, approved social workers, etc. This article looks at jurisprudential aspects of that ‘right’. It points out that ‘right’ actually means ‘power’ (not ‘privilege’, ‘claim’ or ‘immunity’). In addition it argues that the Mental Health Act, 1983 does only confer a power (rather than impose a duty) to retake absconders from mental hospitals and that there should not be statutory or other imposition of such a duty.

The Circulation of Pauper Lunatics and the Transitory Nature of Mental Health Provision in Late Nineteenth Century Cumberland and Westmorland

2017 ◽  
pp. 56-65
Author(s):  
Cara Dobbing
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
Mentally Ill ◽  
Late Nineteenth Century ◽  
England And Wales ◽  
Late Nineteenth

Following the implementation of legislation in 1845 which required every county and borough throughout England and Wales to build an institution for the treatment of mentally ill paupers, there was a surge in the number of people classed as insane. This created situations of overcrowding, and pauper lunatics were constantly pushed and pulled between the asylum and the workhouse in an attempt to alleviate pressure on accommodation. This paper explores the experience of pauper lunatic patients at the County Asylum of Cumberland and Westmorland, and recounts the experience of its pauper patients as they entered and departed from the institution, thereby portraying the transitionary process of mental health provision in the latter half of the nineteenth century.

scholarly journals Rise in the use of section 136 of the Mental Health Act 1983 in England and Wales: A viewpoint on Loughran (2018)

2019 ◽  
Vol 60 (2) ◽  
pp. 140-146 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Cresswell
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Recent Work ◽  
Theoretical Perspective ◽  
Causal Analysis ◽  
England And Wales ◽  
Mental Health Act ◽  
The Law

This article provides a critical viewpoint on Loughran’s recent work in Medicine, Science and the Law on the causes of the rise in the police’s use of section 136 (s136) of the Mental Health Act 1983 (Loughran M. Detention under section 136: why is it increasing? Med Sci Law 2018; 58: 268–274). The rate of this rise seems significant: by 2014, it was five times more likely that a person in England would be detained in a hospital under s136 than it was in 2000, and the trend has continued to the present day. This viewpoint considers the significance of the s136 rise from the theoretical perspective of causal analysis.

Mortality of Public Mental Health Patients: A Singapore Experience

1993 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 36-41 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lionel Chee-Chong Lim ◽  
Li-Ping Sim ◽  
Peak-Chiang Chiam
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
General Population ◽  
Older Patients ◽  
Public Mental Health ◽  
Younger Patients ◽  
Standardised Mortality Ratio ◽  
Common Diagnosis ◽  
Mental Health Patients ◽  
Mortality Ratio ◽  
Age And Sex

This study reports the Standardised Mortality Ratio (SMR) by age and sex among public mental health patients in Singapore. The authors also examine the differences between those who were classified as “inpatient deaths” and those who were classified as “outpatient deaths”. Mortality was 5.1 times that of the general population and the SMR was most accentuated in the younger, female patients. Of the 217 deaths documented over two years, schizophrenia was the most common diagnosis. Inpatient deaths (N = 120) occurred in older patients with prior physical illness who died of natural causes. In contrast, outpatient deaths (N = 97) involved younger patients with no previous illness and the majority jumped to their deaths. Mortality studies are necessary in monitoring the efficacy of mental health provisions.

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