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 | | Thursday, 18 October, 2001, 14:20 GMT 15:20 UK Mental health laws set to change  Existing laws can be traced back to the 1960s Plans for a radical overhaul of the country's mental health laws have been unveiled by the Scottish Executive Health Minister Susan Deacon said the raft of proposals would put the rights of the individual at the heart of mental health legislation and give sufferers and their carers more say in how their cases are dealt with. The move follows a report by the Millan Committee earlier this year, in which 400 suggestions for reforming mental health legislation were made. The existing legislation, the Mental Health Act 1984, was reviewed by the committee, chaired by the Rt Hon Bruce Millan, to reflect changes in mental health care in recent years. The minister said the "vast majority" of the proposals had been accepted. The committee's recommendations include:
At the launch of the policy statement Ms Deacon said a "broader approach" was needed to tackle mental health problems with greater focus on "better prevention, high-quality treatment and modern legislation". She said: "Twenty years ago the majority of patients with mental health problems were cared for in institutions that were closer to the 19th century than the 20th.
She said the new proposals "represent the biggest ever overhaul of our mental health laws in Scotland" and stressed that "patients and their families will notice the difference". "They will have stronger rights to independent advocacy, more protection against neglect and all types of abuse, a stronger voice in having their needs and conditions assessed, and free legal representation in the new mental health tribunal system. "The public too should be reassured that this wide-ranging package recognises the legitimate concerns of the community to be protected from the small minority of offenders with mental disorders who pose a risk." Draft legislation Ms Deacon said that ministers would continue to oversee those patients placed under restrictions by the courts. She said this would ensure that those who remained dangerous would not be released back into the community. The planned reforms to mental health laws however, were not welcomed by everyone.
"Rather than address this issue and improve the care of those with mental health problems, Susan Deacon has simply ignored it once again. "Instead of turning a blind eye, Miss Deacon should unify the health related social work budgets. Beds would then be freed up for those who desperately needed them, and mentally ill patients would be more likely to receive the care they require. "The minister also wants to abdicate her responsibility for the final discharge of dangerous patients by handing this power over to mental health tribunals." Work will now begin to enshrine the new mental health proposals in a bill, which will be put before the Scottish Parliament next year. Former Scottish health minister, Sam Galbraith, appointed the committee in February 1999 to look at reforming the Mental Health Act, which has many provisions dating back as far as 1960. | |
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