Draft Mental Heath Bill published

The Government's Draft Mental Health Bill was published yesterday. The bill has been the subject of quite a bit of controversy because of two aspects.

The first is that it will potentially allow people with severe personality disorders to be detained if they are thought to be a danger to themselves or others. This has previously been difficult because personality disorders have been considered by some to be untreatable and detention under the Mental Health Act is only allowed for the purposes of assessment or treatment. In a change from the original 2002 draft bill, people with personality disorders will only be able to be detained if their doctors can satisfy a tribunal that they have a sound treatment plan.

The second controversial aspect is the plan for compulsory treatment order so that people in the community can be compelled to participate in treatment such as taking medication. The criteria for these Compulsory Treament Orders has been tightened since the original draft so that they can only be used with people who repeatedly relapse and need hospital admission.