scholarly journals What psychiatrists think about Part III of the Mental Health Act 1983

1999 ◽  
Vol 23 (12) ◽  
pp. 721-725 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alec Buchanan ◽  
John Gunn
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Response Rates ◽  
Postal Survey ◽  
Clinical Implications ◽  
England And Wales ◽  
Radical Reform ◽  
Mental Health Act ◽  
The Government ◽  
Psychopathic Disorder

Aims and methodThe government has proposed a ‘root and branch’ review of the Mental Health Act 1983 to be conducted by the end of 1999. The aim of the study was to establish the views of general and forensic psychiatrists as to the adequacy of present legislative provision for England and Wales. The study was carried out by postal survey.ResultsThe response rates were 82%, for forensic psychiatrists and 67%, for general psychiatrists. Most respondents considered most of present provision satisfactory. Areas considered in need of amendment were: the term ‘psychopathic disorder’; the requirement for an offence punishable by imprisonment before a hospital order can be made, provision for remands to hospital and the loss of clinical independence consequent upon the making of a restriction order.Clinical implicationsForensic psychiatrists seem more willing than general psychiatrists to see their clinical discretion limited by the courts. Most of the suggestions were for changes to individual aspects of the present legislation rather than radical reform.

scholarly journals Facilities for carers of in-patients in forensic psychiatric services in England and Wales

2010 ◽  
Vol 34 (9) ◽  
pp. 381-384 ◽  
Author(s):  
Irene Cormac ◽  
Drew Lindon ◽  
Hannah Jones ◽  
Trevor Gedeon ◽  
Michael Ferriter
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Postal Survey ◽  
Psychiatric Services ◽  
Clinical Implications ◽  
England And Wales ◽  
Mental Health Settings ◽  
Forensic Psychiatric ◽  
Minority Ethnic ◽  
Psychiatric Facilities

Aims and methodA postal survey of forensic psychiatric facilities in England and Wales was undertaken to obtain information about the services provided for carers of in-patients within these services.ResultsForensic psychiatric services vary in the support and facilities provided for carers. Many do not comply with current legislation for carers. Most units informed carers of their rights to have an assessment, but only a minority provided facilities for carers from Black and minority ethnic backgrounds.Clinical implicationsForensic psychiatric services should meet standards for the involvement and support of carers in mental health settings, and comply with legislation for carers.

scholarly journals Workload implications of the proposed new Mental Health Act – an audit

2003 ◽  
Vol 27 (02) ◽  
pp. 54-57
Author(s):  
Sean Whyte ◽  
Clive Meux
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Clinical Care ◽  
White Paper ◽  
Law Reform ◽  
Clinical Implications ◽  
Health Law ◽  
Forensic Patients ◽  
Mental Health Act ◽  
The Government ◽  
Time Required

Aims and Method To estimate specific time and resource implications for professionals, if proposed changes to the Mental Health Act 1983 (England & Wales) in the Government's white paper were to be implemented unchanged. An audit of time spent on current procedures was extrapolated. Results The amount of time required to comply with the Act will rise substantially (by 27% overall). Social workers and independent doctors will spend 30% and 207% more time respectively, complying with the Act, but psychiatrists providing clinical care to forensic patients should be largely unaffected. Clinical Implications If the Government presses ahead with its plans for mental health law reform as currently proposed, extra resources will be required to provide additional social work and independent medical time – or other services for patients will suffer.

scholarly journals Foreword

2014 ◽  
Vol 1 (10) ◽  
pp. 5
Author(s):  
Charlotte Emmett
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Health Law ◽  
Mental Health Law ◽  
England And Wales ◽  
Mental Health Act ◽  
Parliamentary Committee ◽  
Second Year ◽  
Deja Vu ◽  
The Government ◽  
Déjà Vu

<p align="LEFT">Those who have been following the progress of the mental health law reforms in England and Wales may be forgiven for experiencing a sense of déjà-vu during the Queen’s Speech last year, as the much anticipated Mental Health Bill was (perhaps not surprisingly) absent from the Government’s parliamentary agenda for the second year running. It would seem that ministers are unable to reach agreement on the exact direction of the new Bill. There are also rumblings that the much needed Mental Health Act reforms are not being afforded sufficiently high priority by the Government. John Reid, the Health Secretary, was quick to respond such criticisms in November, confirming the Government’s intention to bring forward a revised Bill for pre-legislative scrutiny by Parliamentary Committee “as soon as possible”. For the time being however, it remains to be seen when the new reforms will be introduced.</p>

scholarly journals The simulated mental health review tribunal – a valuable training tool for senior house officers?

2007 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 29-32 ◽  
Author(s):  
Asim Naeem ◽  
Bhanu Gupta ◽  
Joan Rutherford ◽  
Audrey Gachen ◽  
Sarah Roberts
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Formal Training ◽  
Clinical Implications ◽  
England And Wales ◽  
Training Tool ◽  
Confidence Levels ◽  
Mental Health Act ◽  
Health Review ◽  
Simulated Training ◽  
Academic Programme

Aims and MethodPsychiatric senior house officers currently receive little formal training in how to give testimony at mental health review tribunals. The development of a simulated tribunal workshop for trainees, which is group-based, interactive and experiential in nature, with meaningful user and carer input is described.ResultsWe have incorporated simulated mental health review tribunal workshops into our academic programme and these have been successfully evaluated. Feedback has shown a marked increase in the confidence levels of trainees regarding tribunals.Clinical ImplicationsThe new Mental Health Act (England and Wales) is likely to place increasing demands on psychiatrists, in terms of giving testimony at mental health review tribunals. Simulated training for senior house officers, incorporating user and carer perspectives, can improve their skills and confidence in presenting at actual tribunals.

Workload implications of the proposed new Mental Health Act – an audit

2003 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 54-57 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sean Whyte ◽  
Clive Meux
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Clinical Care ◽  
White Paper ◽  
Law Reform ◽  
Clinical Implications ◽  
Health Law ◽  
Forensic Patients ◽  
Mental Health Act ◽  
The Government ◽  
Time Required

Aims and MethodTo estimate specific time and resource implications for professionals, if proposed changes to the Mental Health Act 1983 (England & Wales) in the Government's white paper were to be implemented unchanged. An audit of time spent on current procedures was extrapolated.ResultsThe amount of time required to comply with the Act will rise substantially (by 27% overall). Social workers and independent doctors will spend 30% and 207% more time respectively, complying with the Act, but psychiatrists providing clinical care to forensic patients should be largely unaffected.Clinical ImplicationsIf the Government presses ahead with its plans for mental health law reform as currently proposed, extra resources will be required to provide additional social work and independent medical time – or other services for patients will suffer.

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.

R v Westwood (Thomas): diminished responsibility and disposals under the Mental Health Act 1983

2021 ◽  
Vol 72 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sean Mennim
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Illness ◽  
England And Wales ◽  
Mental Health Act ◽  
Court Of Appeal ◽  
Diminished Responsibility

This is a commentary on R v Westwood (Thomas), where the Court of Appeal of England and Wales held that the judge had erred in assessing Westwood’s ‘retained responsibility’ as medium to high under the Sentencing Council Guideline for manslaughter by reason of diminished responsibility. Although the sentencing judge concluded that the offending was caused by Westwood’s anger, the Court of Appeal found the psychiatric evidence clearly indicated that the most significant factor was Westwood’s mental illness and that his anger at the time of the offence was a manifestation of his mental illness. Westwood’s responsibility was low, and it was appropriate to impose both a hospital and restriction order.  

scholarly journals Adolescent units: a need for change?

2003 ◽  
Vol 27 (8) ◽  
pp. 292-294 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tim Calton ◽  
Jon Arcelus
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Psychiatric Diagnosis ◽  
Adjustment Disorder ◽  
General Purpose ◽  
Clinical Implications ◽  
Violent Behaviour ◽  
Mental Health Act

Aims and MethodTo describe the characteristics and diagnoses of patients admitted to a general adolescent psychiatric in-patient unit. We describe the age, gender and psychiatric diagnosis of the patient, as well as whether the patient exhibited violent behaviour in the ward, whether he/she needed to be transferred to a different service and whether he/she was admitted under a section of the Mental Health Act 1983.ResultsPatients were evenly distributed in terms of gender, with most being 14–16 years old. Diagnoses were varied with adjustment disorder predominating, but could be separated into four main groups. Levels of violence were high, being associated with detention under the Mental Health Act 1983, and often resulted in transfer to another service.Clinical ImplicationsThe needs of certain adolescents admitted to a general-purpose adolescent unit may not be best met in this environment. Current services must change to meet the needs of their patients. There may be a need for greater specialisation.

scholarly journals Reforming the Mental Health Act 1983: ‘Joined Up Compulsion’

2014 ◽  
Vol 1 (5) ◽  
pp. 5
Author(s):  
Philip Fennell
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Learning Disabled ◽  
Legal Framework ◽  
White Paper ◽  
Best Interests ◽  
Mentally Disordered ◽  
Mental Health Act ◽  
Risk Patients ◽  
The Government ◽  
Personality Disordered

<p>This article discusses the two volume White Paper <em>Reforming the Mental Health Act</em> issued by the Government in December 2000. The two volumes are separately titled <em>The New Legal Framework</em> and <em>High Risk Patients</em>. The foreword to the White Paper appears above the signatures of the Secretary of State for Health, Alan Milburn, and the Home Secretary, Jack Straw. This is heralded as an example of ‘joined up government’, and indeed one of the themes of the White Paper is the need for closer working between the psychiatric and criminal justice systems. The primary policy goal of the proposals is the management of the risk posed to other people by people with mental disorder, perhaps best exemplified in Volume One of the White Paper which proclaims that ‘Concerns of risk will always take precedence, but care and treatment should otherwise reflect the best interests of the patient.’ This is a clear reflection of the fact that the reforms are taking place against the background of a climate of concern about homicides by mentally disordered patients, whether mentally ill, learning disabled, or personality disordered.</p>

scholarly journals Repeated Police Mental Health Act Detentions in England and Wales: Trauma and Recurrent Suicidality

2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (23) ◽  
pp. 4786
Author(s):  
Claire Warrington
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Lived Experience ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Police Intervention ◽  
England And Wales ◽  
Mental Health Act ◽  
Self Harm ◽  
South East England ◽  
National Police

Most police Mental Health Act (Section 136) detentions in England and Wales relate to suicide prevention. Despite attempts to reduce detention rates, numbers have risen almost continually. Although Section 136 has been subject to much academic and public policy scrutiny, the topic of individuals being detained on multiple occasions remains under-researched and thus poorly understood. A mixed methods study combined six in-depth interviews with people who had experienced numerous suicidal crises and police intervention, with detailed police and mental health records. A national police survey provided wider context. Consultants with lived experience of complex mental health problems jointly analysed interviews. Repeated detention is a nationally recognised issue. In South East England, it almost exclusively relates to suicide or self-harm and accounts for a third of all detentions. Females are detained with the highest frequencies. The qualitative accounts revealed complex histories of unresolved trauma that had catastrophically damaged interviewee’s relational foundations, rendering them disenfranchised from services and consigned to relying on police intervention in repeated suicidal crises. A model is proposed that offers a way to conceptualise the phenomenon of repeated detention, highlighting that long-term solutions to sustain change are imperative, as reactive-only responses can perpetuate crisis cycles.

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