Mental Health Act review published

Late last year the Independent Review of the Mental Health Act 1983 published its final report, with around 150 recommendations for change. The review had been announced by the prime minister and aimed to review the Act, which sets out when a person can be detained and treated in hospital against their wishes, to look at how it is used and how it can be improved.

It particularly sought to examine rising rates of detention under the Act, the disproportionate number of people from black and minority ethnic groups detained, and processes that are out of step with a modern mental health care system.

Over the course of last year, the review heard from thousands of people who had been detained under the Act, including people receiving care, and their carers, families and friends. Many expressed concerns about how the Act had failed to protect their rights and dignity, and excluded them from decisions about their own treatment. There were also complaints that families and carers had been left in dark about what was happening.