Lords Consider Mental Health Bill

[Guest guest]

The House of Lords is carrying out a detailed consideration of

proposals to introduce new mental health laws.

The new government bill would allow the enforced detention of people

who are mentally ill, even if they have not committed any crime.

 

It also suggests strengthening powers established in 1983 to ensure

patients have therapy once they are released back into the community.

 

Critics of the bill say it would fail to safeguard the rights of

patients.

 

Health Minister Rosie Winterton said the bill would reflect changes

to mental health services in recent years.

 

" We have made it very clear in the bill that appropriate treatment

has to be available for detention to take place, " she said.

 

Ensure medication

 

Current laws do not allow people with severe personality disorders

who have committed no offence to be detained.

 

The government wants to give the right to force patients who have

been released into the community to take their medication, even if

they do not want to.

 

It also wants to allow the detention of people with personality

orders who are described as untreatable, even if they have not

committed a crime.

 

I think the idea that somehow this bill is going to prevent

homicides and violent assaults is a mistake.

 

Professor Sheila Hollins

Royal College of Psychiatrists

 

Doctors and campaigners argue the bill erodes the rights of patients

without making the public any safer.

 

An amendment to ensure a set of guiding principles protecting

patients' rights was debated.

 

Broadcaster and writer Lord Bragg, who takes the Labour whip, said

this was of " crucial importance. "

 

Treatments

 

He said: " People should retain as much autonomy as possible. People

may have decision-making ability over many of the areas where

decisions need to be made.

 

" It may be necessary for someone to receive treatment under

compulsory powers, but they may have views and knowledge about which

treatments have previously helped or harmed them. "

 

He added: " People should be supported to make their own decisions

where possible and given the same choices as people with physical

health conditions. "

 

The bill was promised in the Queen's Speech and comes after previous

attempts to change the act were thwarted by opposition from

campaigners and doctors.

 

The government published a draft Mental Health Bill in 2002, but

dropped it last March.

 

Instead of replacing the old laws, the latest bill proposes amending

the existing Mental Health Act from 1983.

 

Health Minister Lord Hunt said the proposed amendment was not

appropriate in a bill that sought not to re-write the law completely

but merely to amend the old act.

 

Conservative Lord Howe, who did not put his amendment to a vote,

said: " I urge the government to be bold, to use this opportunity to

put the legislation into a context of values and, in so doing, to

make a real difference to mental health patients. "

 

About 50 Labour MPs have already signalled their intention to oppose

the bill, which would apply to England and Wales.

 

The changes would affect about 14,000 of the 600,000 people who use

mental health services each year.

 

The desire to change the law was largely driven by Michael Stone's

1998 conviction for the murders of Lin and Megan Russell.