Research published on 22 June 2017 by the Mental Health Alliance shows that Mental Health Act isn’t working. The research includes the views of over 8000 people who use mental health services, carers, and professionals. Half of those who responded did not think that people are treated with dignity and respect under the Mental Health Act. However, according to the National Survivor User Network (NSUN), the results may be even more disturbing if we pay attention that the overall percentage of respondents with previous experience of detention was only 14% and only 0.5% had current experience, and that people at increased risk of detention (black people and males) were underrepresented.
The Mental Health Act is 34 years old, as it was adopted in 1983. It regulates compulsory measures in psychiatry in England and Wales. The Act was amended in 2007 and the changes introduced included new Community Treatment Orders (CTOs), a measure which ENUSP has criticized in our statements.
According to the Mental Health Alliance, the Act contains very outdated provisions. For instance, if you are sectioned under the Mental Health Act, your nearest relative is contacted and given a say over your treatment and detainment. The ‘nearest relative’ is not the same as ‘next of kin’ and comes in a specific hierarchy starting with your spouse, then son/daughter, then father/mother etc, which means a relative you have a difficult relationship with can be given control of your health and you get no say in it.
The research also mentions quite disturbing statistics. Over 63,000 people were detained under the Act in 2015/16 in England – a 47% increase over the past decade. As for the CTOs, in 2015/16 4,361 CTOs were issued, which constitutes a decrease of 4% since the previous year. However, the number of CTOs issued has remained relatively stable over the past five years. If we consider that the announced aim of CTOs is reduction of the number of people detained in hospitals, it is clear that the aim is not achieved.
NSUN calls for a replacement of the Mental Health Act with a Mental Health Rights Act, so that people using mental health services are treated as equal citizens with access to the same rights as any other members of the public.