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A POSTnote summarising proposed reforms to the Mental Health Act (1983) to improve patient choice, highlighting relevant research evidence and stakeholder perspectives.
Reforming the Mental Health Act – Approaches to Improve Patient Choice (297 KB , PDF)
DOI: https://doi.org/10.58248/PN695
The Mental Health Act (1983) regulates compulsory detention and treatment of people with a mental disorder in England and Wales. The UK Government has published a draft Mental Health Bill to amend the legislation. The proposed changes focus on increasing patient autonomy and reducing assessment and detention under the Act. This is in response to a range of issues, notably the the rising rates of detention under the Act and its disproportionate use against people from ethnic minority backgrounds.
The Government commissioned an Independent Review of the Mental Health Act, which reported in 2018. Its recommendations centred on four principles: choice and autonomy; least restriction; therapeutic benefit; and the person as an individual.
A Joint Committee on the Draft Mental Health Bill was established in July 2022 to scrutinise the draft Bill. The Committee published a report with its recommendations to Government in January 2023.
Further information on the White Paper that preceded the Draft Bill, the consultation and the draft Bill is available in the Commons Library briefing on Reforming the Mental Health Act.
This POSTnote is focused on patient choice and autonomy, and covers adults aged over 18. It complements other recent POSTnotes focussed on other aspects of proposals to update the legislation: Mental Health Act Reform – Race and Ethnic Inequalities and Mental Health Act Reform – Impacts on Children and Young People. As healthcare policy is devolved, the reforms described here apply only to England and Wales.
POST is grateful to Dr Howard Ryland for researching this briefing, to the Oxford Policy Engagement Network Fellowship and the Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford for funding his parliamentary fellowship, and to all contributors and reviewers. For further information on this subject, please contact the co-author, Dr Sarah Bunn.
POSTnotes are based on literature reviews and interviews with a range of stakeholders and are externally peer-reviewed. POST would like to thank interviewees and peer reviewers for kindly giving up their time during the preparation of this briefing, including:
*denotes people and organisations who acted as external reviewers of the briefing.
Reforming the Mental Health Act – Approaches to Improve Patient Choice (297 KB , PDF)
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