Mental Health Act 1983
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make it his policy to reform the Mental Health Act 1983 to (a) abolish community treatment orders, (b) ensure people to have a right to appeal decisions, (c) ensure patients in a mental health hospital to automatically get an advocate and (d) ensure young people are not placed on adult wards.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock
The Mental Health Bill announced in the King’s Speech will deliver the Government’s commitment to modernise the Mental Health Act 1983. The reforms will strengthen the voice of patients by adding statutory weight to patients’ rights to be involved with planning for their care, and to make choices regarding the treatment they receive.
The reforms will also strengthen and improve the statutory roles which protect and support those who are detained, by introducing a new statutory role, the nominated person, who is chosen by the patient, to replace the nearest relative and extend access to Independent Mental Health Advocates to informal patients and introduce an opt-out system for formal patients.
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