This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Parliament passes Mental Health Bill
20/03/2003
The first major overhaul of mental health law for 40
years happened today with the passing of the Mental Health
(Care and Treatment) Bill.
Provisions under the Bill, introduced to Parliament by
the Health Minister Malcolm Chisholm last year, aim to give
better protection and rights to people with mental
disorders.
It will:
- establish a new Mental Health Tribunal which will
combine professional, legal and practical experience in
deciding what is best for patients;
- give new provisions to ensure that advocacy is
available to all persons with mental disorder;
- strengthen the Mental Welfare Commission to ensure
that people with mental illness and learning
disabilities are properly protected;
- provide a new compulsory treatment order, which
will allow care and treatment to be tailored to the
personal needs of each patient, whether in hospital or
in the community;
- place duties on local authorities to promote the
wellbeing and social development of all persons in
their area who have, or have had, a mental
disorder;
- place additional safeguards in the use of certain
medical treatments;
- establish mechanisms for the nomination of a 'named
person' with significant rights to represent the
patient's interests
The Minister said:
"This is an auspicious moment for the Parliament and for
everyone with an interest in mental health in Scotland. It
is the culmination of an inclusive and extensive process,
giving us a landmark Bill - by far the largest Bill to have
been considered by the Parliament - which provides a
comprehensive framework for addressing the needs of a
vulnerable, deserving but for many years often neglected
group of patients.
"We have a Bill, which places patients and their welfare
at its heart. This is underlined by a coherent set of
principles to which anyone discharging functions under the
Act must have regard
"I am grateful to all who have contributed to the
preparation of and proceedings on the Bill: the Mental
Health Legislation Reference Group, the Mental Welfare
Commission and the Law Society of Scotland have been
particularly helpful in bringing a keen and experienced eye
to the Bill while the voluntary organisations, including
SAMH and NSF Scotland, have by their tenacity and
persistence have helped to ensure that the patient's
perspective was always clearly recognised."
The Deputy Minister for Health Mary Mulligan added:
"I would like to join in the tributes which have been
made to all who have contributed to the development and
preparation of this Bill - the voluntary organisations,
healthcare professionals, social work interests and many
others, as well as, of course the Health and Community Care
Committee for its balanced and constructive input.
"In consequence, we have a Bill which is fit for purpose
and with a flexibility which will enable a ready response
to new developments in care and treatment. The Scottish
Parliament has made this Bill possible. Taken with the
Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act 2000 we now have a
corpus of legislation, which is the equal, if not better,
than anything, anywhere in the world today. It is a shining
example of our determination and capability to improve the
welfare and wellbeing of the ill and disadvantaged in our
society."
Ian Miller, Chairman of the Mental Welfare Commission,
also welcomed the passing of the Bill and commented:
"The new legislation will strengthen the rights of users
of services to receive appropriate care and treatment,
based on the principle of least restrictive intervention.
This means that compulsory measures set out in the Act will
be applied selectively only to the degree that is
necessary. This is an important updating of existing
legislation, with care and treatment being tailored more to
the individual rather than "one size fits all".
Furthermore, we welcome the provisions which continue and
strengthen the protective role of the Mental Welfare
Commission in supporting the welfare and rights of people
with mental disorder in Scotland."
Key amendments to the Bill at Stages 2 and 3
include:
- a new appeal right against excessive security which
will help ensure that 'entrapped' patients can move on
timeously to a setting suitable to their needs;
- stronger safeguards on ECT which make clear that a
patient who is able to make a choice can not be treated
without consent and, tighten up the procedure for
patients who are too unwell to make a decision;
- giving every person with a mental disorder a right
of access to independent advocacy to strengthen the
Bill's provisions to secure the availability of
advocacy to all persons who have a mental disorder and
to ensure that persons have the opportunity of making
use of such services.
In implementing the Act, the Scottish Executive will
work with interested parties in Scotland to achieve the
benefits for users and carers which the Act makes
possible.
The Tribunal will be established and guidance and a Code
of Practice on the Act will be developed to aid
professionals to deliver quality care. Arrangements for
monitoring and evaluation will also be put in place. The
Mental Health Legislation Reference Group will continue to
offer its expertise during the implementation process. It
is intended that by the end of this year the President of
the Tribunal will have been appointed to oversee the latter
stages of preparatory work and the location of the
President's Office will have been determined.
The Mental Health (Care and Treatment) (Scotland) Bill
can be accessed in full, as can the Explanatory Notes,
Policy Memorandum, Amendments and Health and Community Care
Committee considerations of the Bill, on the Scottish
Parliament's website:
www.scottish.parliament.uk
The Mental Health Bill was introduced to the Scottish
Parliament on 16 September 2002.
The Financial Memorandum accompanying the Bill sets out
that the additional costs associated with the new Bill
amount to an estimated £23.1 million per year, with one-off
start-up costs of a further £9.25 million to be met before
the end of 2007-08. The Executive is committing £17.1
million a year to implement the Bill, alongside anticipated
additional NHS expenditure of £6 million a year. In
2001/02, the NHS spent an estimated £557 million on mental
health services in Scotland, up 7% from 2000/1, and local
authorities spent £47 million.
The work of the Scottish Executive on mental health
promotion, led by the National Advisory Group which the
Health Minister leads continues. The National Programme to
Improve Mental Health and Well-Being in Scotland includes a
comprehensive initiative to reduce the rate of suicide in
Scotland; the anti-stigma campaign
see me; and the
Breathing Space phoneline set up to help those
experiencing low mood and depression.