Government proposes amendments to mental health bill

Following consultation with the House of Commons, the House of Lords and relevant parties, the government has announced a number of amendments which aim to strengthen the mental health bill.

Included in these changes is a plan to ensure younger patients are treated on a suitable ward appropriate to their needs, alongside the introduction of statutory advocacy services to support the rights of all mental health patients.

The government has also proposed the provision of increased rights for victims of offenders who are mentally disordered, including the right to know when these people are to be released into the community and the ability to make representations prior to their release.

Lastly, the government has called for supervised community treatment conditions to be used solely to prevent harm to the health or safety of patients and the wider community.

Rosie Winterton, health minister, said: “We as a society have the responsibility to act if someone with a mental illness is a danger to themselves or others.

“Patients need to have their interests safeguarded and their rights championed and that is what I believe this bill delivers.”

She added that the bill aims to also give rights to victims of violent incidents committed by mentally disordered offenders, who themselves will be treated with “respect and dignity”.

Last month, the Department of Health reported the success of psychological treatment pilots in Doncaster and Newham, with the government backing an expansion of the cognitive behavioural therapy programme.