The Mental Health Act 2007– The Defeat of an Ideal

Rowena Daw (1)

This short account of the history of the reform of the Mental Health Act covers the main issues that divided the participants in the process, and the flawed legacy that remains. It gives the background to central provisions of the 2007 Act as they were amended during the parliamentary process and reflects on some problems they raise (2). It does not consider the amendments to the Mental Capacity Act 2005 to cover so-called ‘Bournewood’ patients (3), although some implications of the different regimes will be mentioned.

Footnotes:
(1) Vice-chair, Mental Health Alliance. Rowena Daw was a legal adviser to the opposition throughout the Mental Health Bill debates in Parliament. She worked on the Bill at Mind and later as consultant at the Royal College of Psychiatrists during most of the period covered by this article, but the views expressed are personal to her. The author is grateful to Mat Kinton (Senior Policy Analyst, Mental Health Act Commission) for his editorial assistance.
(2) For an excellent account of the detailed provisions of the Act, see Mental Health Act Commission Mental Health Act 2007, Policy Briefing for Commissioners, July 2007 www.mhac.org.uk.
(3) Introduced by section 50 Mental Health Act 2007.

Price: £3.00

 

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