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Post-legislative scrutiny of the Mental Health Act 2007: first report of session 2013-14: report, together with formal minutes, oral and written evidence
- Author:
- GREAT BRITAIN. Parliament. House of Commons. Health Committee
- Publisher:
- Stationery Office
- Publication year:
- 2013
- Pagination:
- 87
- Place of publication:
- London
The Mental Health Act 2007 amended and updated the Mental Health Act 1983, which remains the cornerstone of mental health legislation in England. The measures in the 2007 Act were proposed to reflect the changing ways in the treatment and care of patients with mental health problems. The 2007 Act included a single definition of mental disorder, to incorporate conditions not accounted for in the original legislation. In this post-legislative scrutiny of the 2007 Act, the Health Committee is concerned that the Department of Health does not have a clear picture of what is leading to increased rates of detention, and whether or how pressure on beds is having a detrimental effect on treatment. Patients who manage to access treatment voluntarily are subject to ‘de facto detention’, whereby they are detained under section if they seek to leave hospital. Supervised Community Treatment (SCT) was introduced in the 2007 Act, to enable some patients with mental disorder to live and be treated in the community. However, number of patients subject to compulsion under the 2007 Act has increased as a result of SCT. The Committee found evidence about the effective application of deprivation of liberty safeguards (DOLS) for people suffering from mental incapacity "profoundly depressing and complacent". The Department of Health should undertake an urgent review of the implementation of DOLS, which should be presented to Parliament, together with an action plan for improvement, within 12 months. Although the 2007 Act did not inherently disadvantage minority ethnic patients, the numbers subject to Community Treatment Orders (CTOs) is even more disproportionate than the number detained in psychiatric hospitals. The Committee recommends that local authorities should ensure they commission culturally sensitive and effective advocacy services. A more successful outcome investigated by the Committee was the use of Independent Mental Health Advocates (IMHAs). (Original abstract)