Summary
The Mental Health Act is the law covering when persons with mental disorders may be detained and treated in hospital against their wishes or treated in their community under a community treatment order (CTO). Such people should receive care and support to help them recover.
Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspectors visited people detained or on CTOs carried out by Mental Health Act (MHA) commissioners, and checked whether patients’ basic human rights were being supported during their care and treatment under the Act.
This CQC report states that 15% of people receiving care under the Mental Health Act are not involved in decisions made about their care. Some patients are not provided with information about being discharged from hospital, including how to go about proving they could be discharged.
The number of people subject to the Act is rising. During 2011/12, there were 48,631 detentions (up 5%) and a further 4,220 CTOs were issued (up 10%).
Read more: Mental health services must improve the care they provide to patients. Care Quality Commission.
Some examples are supplied of hospitals providing good care and treatment for patients detained under the Mental Health Act.
Reference
Monitoring the Mental Health Act in 2011/12. London: Care Quality Commission (CQC), January 30th 2013.
[A brief reference to this item features in Dementia and Elderly Care: the Latest Evidence Newsletter (RWNHST), Volume 3 Issue 7, May 2013].
