Mental health bill risks breaching patients' rights and would be unworkable, committee hears

November 16, 2004
by staff reporter

The draft mental health bill risks breaching the rights of patients and would be unworkable, a parliamentary committee has heard.

Proposals in the draft bill to compulsory treat people with mental health problems in the community could breach patients' human rights, the Law Society warned.

The warning cames as the society, which represents solicitors in England and Wales, gave evidence to a parliamentary committee scrutinising the controversial draft bill.

The bill would allow compulsory treatment to be imposed on patients living in the community as well as those in hospital.

Bmj.com reported that the society said mental health staff could also impose conditions banning patients from engaging in "specified conduct," such as going to a pub or socialising with certain people. Breaches could lead to their detention in hospital.

Russell Wallman, the society's strategic policy director, said: "The introduction of community mental health orders will create the equivalent of psychiatric antisocial behaviour orders to be imposed on people with mental health problems."

He said the society believed the provision of well resourced community services would reduce the need for compulsion against people with mental health problems and that community treatment orders would be "unworkable and impractical."

In its written evidence to the committee, the Royal College of Psychiatrists described the draft bill's proposals as "extremely complex, confusing and, some would say, incomprehensible."

The royal college believed the draft bill was "unworkable" and the impact of the proposals overall would "damage safety for both the patient and society."

The college added: "It is essential that prospective patients are not deterred from seeking help. Indeed, because suicide and other risks are largely assessed from information given by the patient, it is necessary for the person to feel able to talk freely."

The proposed legislation was "extremely unlikely to have any impact on suicide or homicide rates," it said.

In further evidence to the committee, it was claimed that the draft bill would be "unworkable" in Wales because services are not sufficiently equipped to deliver the legislation.

Hafal, a service user-led group, said Welsh services "lacked the infrastructure" to support the bill.

Vicky Yates, a carer representing Hafal, told the committee that implementation of the national service framework for mental health in Wales remained "patchy" and said the bill would not work without "radical" change.

The group were particularly concerned that there was no clear timetable for implementing the NSF, leaving Wales "falling behind" England.

Hafal also raised concerns over workforce problems including an "acute shortage" of psychiatrists in Wales.

Societyguardian.co.uk reported that Cliff Prior, the chief executive of the mental health charity Rethink, told the committee that the proposed legislation risked exacerbating existing funding inequalities.

He said: "All the resources have gone on compulsion, on secure beds, very little has gone on early intervention. A more balanced bill could drive resources where they are most needed."

He predicted that resources would continue to be channelled into secure services unless the bill gave people a statutory right for a mental health assessment when they first experience mental distress.

"The reason why mental health care is so distorted towards dealing with failure is because the legal powers are focused on that end," he said.

The joint committee on the draft bill is due to report its findings by March 2005.

This means the bill itself is unlikely to be introduced in parliament before the next general election. The Department of Health said it does not expect it to become law until 2007.

See:
* The government's revised draft mental health bill (pdf)
* Reports on evidence submitted to the parliamentary committee at societyguardian.co.uk and bmj.com

See also:
Sept 9: Government publishes revised draft mental health bill - but it is greeted with universal condemnation from bodies representing mental health professionals and service users.

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