New laws to reform the Mental Health Act, including banning the use of prison cells for those experiencing severe mental illness, have been introduced into parliament today.
The bill will make it a legal requirement for each patient to have a care and treatment plan tailored to them with clear points on what is needed for discharge. Patients will also have a right to elect a person to represent them and greater access to advocacy when detained.
There will also be a requirement for the responsible clinician to consult another person before a patient is discharged, to ensure care is ‘appropriate, compassionate and effective’.
Currently, the ‘outdated’ law allows for those experiencing severe mental illness to be placed in prison cells, for a patient’s nearest relative, instead of a person of their choosing, to have a say in decisions about their care, and for those with a learning disability or autism to be sectioned inappropriately.
Black people are also over three times more likely to be detained under the Act, according to the Department of Health and Social Care.
The government has said it will address these issues with the new bill.
Health secretary, Wes Streeting, said: ‘Our outdated mental health system is letting down some of the most vulnerable people in our society, and is in urgent need of reform.
‘The treatment of autistic people and people with learning disabilities, and the way in which black people are disproportionately targeted by the act should shame us all.
‘By bringing the Mental Health Act in line with the 21st Century, we will make sure patients are treated with dignity and respect and the public are kept safe.’
Claire Murdoch, NHS national mental health director, said: ‘This new Mental Health Act is a once in a generation opportunity to ensure that patients experiencing serious mental illness and crises receive safe, modern, evidence-based care, and that the needs and wishes of patients and their loved ones are central to care and better mental health outcomes.
‘This comes alongside the NHS’s work to transform mental health services – either through intervening earlier with hundreds of NHS teams working in schools, or trialling new 24/7 crisis mental health hubs to prevent people needing hospital care in the first place, and if an admission to hospital is needed the health service is working with local services to ensure this is delivered in a safe and therapeutic environment close to people’s homes.’
Emma Paveley, interim assistant director of the NHS Confederation’s Mental Health Network, said: ‘This bill is a long-awaited step forward in reforming the out-dated Mental Health Act and making it fit for the 21st century. Our members have been calling for this for a very long time, so it is fantastic that it will now come before Parliament.
‘These reforms are essential if we are going to start to address the unacceptable disparities in rates of detention for people from some ethnic minority backgrounds.’
She added: ‘The Bill should stop people with learning disabilities and autistic people being detained long-term unless they also have a serious mental health condition, but only when there is sufficient and appropriate community care in place to support them instead.
‘A plan on how this capacity will be built up is vital, otherwise people will continue to be detained inappropriately.’
Dr Sarah Hughes, chief executive of charity Mind, said the bill would bring the country ‘a step closer’ to a more progressive mental health system, but that more needed to be done.
She said: ‘The announcement today marks a significant moment, but we know there is more to do and questions to ask about whether this will go far enough to fix the broken system as we know it.
‘The mental health emergency we are facing will need much more than a reformed Act. It will demand radical and brave action from government alongside proper funding, and we at Mind are ready to help, but more importantly advocate for and amplify the voices of those most impacted.’
Last year, the Conservative government was criticised for missing the chance to reform the bill.
