Mental Health Legislation Flashcards
Involuntary treatment may need to be given for mental illness, why?
- Treatment of a small group of patients
- Severely unwell, lost touch with reality (psychotic)
- Risk to self or others
what is the legal hurdle that is involved in giving involuntary treatment for a mental illness?
Mental health legislation provides a legal mechanism
what are the general criticisms of involuntary treatment?
- Seen as ill-liberal
- May be poorly compatible with international human rights norms
- European Convention on Human Rights / Human Rights Act/ Scotland Act
- Universal Declaration of Human Rights (United Nations)
- Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (United Nations)
- Unnecessary for most patients
- Counterproductive for some patients
- Practical problems in administering treatments
what are the ethical principles involved in the ethical criticisms of involuntary treatment?
- Non-maleficence
- Autonomy (liberty)
- Paternalism (hard – ignores patient’s views)
- Non-discrimination (physical vs mental illness e.g. diabetes)
what are some ethical justifications for involuntary treatment?
- Beneficence (including reducing risk)
- Autonomy (may promote reasoned autonomy)
- Right-to-treatment (is this a human right?)
- Paternalism (soft – “shaping”)
What is the Mental Health Legislation in the UK?
Scotland:
- Mental Health (Care & Treatment) (Scotland) Act 2003
- “MHA”
England and Wales:
• Mental Health Act 1983 [amended by Mental Health Act 2007]
Northern Ireland:
• Mental Health (Northern Ireland) Order 1986
why the mental health law?
- Power to provide compulsory care and treatment for people with a mental disorder
- Rights and safeguards to make sure those powers are used appropriately
- Duties on NHS Boards and local authorities to provide a wide range of services for people with a mental health disorder
what are the principles that come under the mental health act
Non-discrimination
Equality
Respect for diversity
Reciprocity
Informal care
Participation
Respect for carers
Least restrictive alternative
Benefit
Child welfare
we use the term mental disorder
what is a mental disorder defined as?
- any mental illness,
- personality disorder or
- learning disability
- however caused or manifested
a mental disorder is not a mental disorder if only one of the following are present:
- Sexual orientation
- Sexual deviancy
- Transsexualism
- Transvestism
- Dependence on, or use of, alcohol or drugs
- Behaviour that causes, or is likely to cause, harassment, alarm or distress to any other person
- Acting as no prudent person would
what does the mental health act give powers to?
- Civil compulsory powers
- To detain
- To assess
- To treat
- Determined by:
- an approved medical practitioner, s.22 (AMP)
- Mental Health Officer (MHO)
- The court
who can be detained?
- > 18yrs
- < 18
- Can still be detained
- ‘Need’ child / adolescent specialist (CTO etc)
- Use specialist resources (where ever possible)
what are the different Civil Compulsory Powers?
Emergency detention certificate EDC
Short-term detention certificate STDC
Compulsory Treatment Order CTO
Nurses holding power
How long does Emergency detention certificate EDC allow detention for?
Authorises detention for up to 72 hours
how long does Short-term detention certificate ST allow detention for?
Authorises detention for up to 28 days
how long does Compulsory Treatment Order CTO allow detention for?
Authorises detention for up to six months
how long does Nurses holding power allow detention for?
Authorises detention for up to two hours
an EDC allows for upto 72 hours of detention, how is it authorised?
- Authorises transfer to psychiatric hospital
- Fully registered practitioner
- MHO consent “where practicable”
- No right of appeal
- “likely” has MD & SIDMA (significant impairment of decision making ability) for MD
- Granting of STDC undesirable delay
- Significant risk exists to self or others
- Assessment & ER treatment only