scholarly journals General practitioners' referrals for compulsory admission under the Mental Health Act, I: comparison with other GP mental health referrals

1992 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 138-139 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Sheppard
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Illness ◽  
General Practitioners ◽  
Compulsory Admission ◽  
Mental Health Act ◽  
Mental Health Referrals ◽  
The Law

Although the work of general practitioners (GPs) with mental illness generally, particularly in relation to minor mental illness, has been extensively examined, there has been practically no work devoted to the role of GPs in assessment for compulsory admission, either under the 1959 or 1983 Acts. The notable exception is the work of Bean (1980), who is, in some respects, highly critical, accusing them of showing little interest in patients, referring at times inappropriately, committed to the rhetoric rather than reality of care and of knowing little or nothing of the law they were supposed to be using. Bean's work is, however, a study of the 1959 Act, and no research exists on the 1983 Act which now governs section assessments. This neglect of GPs is surprising, in view of the severe consequences of compulsory admissions (sections) and research on the use of the 1983 Act already available on other participating professionals (Sheppard, 1990; Rogers, 1989). GPs are likely to be professional instigators of section assessments as well as involved in the assessment itself.

scholarly journals General practitioners' referrals for compulsory admission under the Mental Health Act, II: the process of assessment

1992 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 139-141 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Sheppard
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Disorder ◽  
General Practitioners ◽  
Social Worker ◽  
Emergency Admission ◽  
Compulsory Admission ◽  
Mental Health Act ◽  
Process And Outcome ◽  
The Law ◽  
Medical Recommendations

This is the second of two articles on GP referrals for compulsory admission, and seeks to examine the process and outcome of assessment by (a) comparing GP with other section assessment referrals and (b) comparing GP referrals who were compulsorily admitted to hospital with those not compulsorily admitted or voluntarily admitted. In relation to the law the main relevant sections for this article are sections 2, 3 and 4. There are two basic grounds for admission: that the patient is suffering from a mental disorder and that admission is in the interests of his/her own health or safety or for the protection of others. Section 4 requires one and sections 2 and 3, two medical recommendations, as well as an application by an approved social worker (ASW) or nearest relative. Section 2, admission for assessment, involves admission for up to 28 days; section 4, emergency admission for assessment, involves admission for up to 72 hours; and section 3, admission for treatment, allows admission for up to six months, and is renewable.

scholarly journals The common law defence of automatism: a quagmire for the psychiatrist

2015 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 242-250 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keith J. B. Rix
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Psychiatric Disorder ◽  
Psychotropic Drugs ◽  
Common Law ◽  
Burden Of Proof ◽  
Standard Of Proof ◽  
Mental Health Act ◽  
The Common ◽  
The Law

SummaryThis article sets out the complicated and confused law on automatism and identifies the role of the psychiatrist, including paradoxically a role in cases of non-psychiatric disorder where the law requires evidence from a doctor approved under section 12 of the Mental Health Act. Legal definitions of automatism are introduced. The internal/external distinction, evidential burden, burden of proof, standard of proof, prior fault, intoxication and the degree of impairment illustrate how the courts limit the defence. Detailed accounts are given of cases in which the defence of automatism has been based on psychiatric disorder and on the effects of psychotropic drugs. Suggestions are made for approaches to assessment and medicolegal reporting.

scholarly journals The working of the 1983 Mental Health Act: the experience of patients, relatives, psychiatrists, general practitioners and social workers involved in compulsory admission

1989 ◽  
Vol 13 (9) ◽  
pp. 477-479 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lynne Webster ◽  
Christine Dean
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
General Practitioners ◽  
Civil Liberties ◽  
Compulsory Admission ◽  
Hospital Managers ◽  
Mental Health Act

The 1983 Mental Health Act was introduced to increase the safeguards of the civil liberties of patients. One of the new provisions is that it is now the statutory responsibility of hospital managers to inform detained patients of their rights; this is done by giving them a leaflet explaining the appeal procedures. Doubt has been expressed (Dunlop, 1979) about whether this is an efficient means of conveying information to acutely ill patients.

scholarly journals Rise in the use of section 136 of the Mental Health Act 1983 in England and Wales: A viewpoint on Loughran (2018)

2019 ◽  
Vol 60 (2) ◽  
pp. 140-146 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Cresswell
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Recent Work ◽  
Theoretical Perspective ◽  
Causal Analysis ◽  
England And Wales ◽  
Mental Health Act ◽  
The Law

This article provides a critical viewpoint on Loughran’s recent work in Medicine, Science and the Law on the causes of the rise in the police’s use of section 136 (s136) of the Mental Health Act 1983 (Loughran M. Detention under section 136: why is it increasing? Med Sci Law 2018; 58: 268–274). The rate of this rise seems significant: by 2014, it was five times more likely that a person in England would be detained in a hospital under s136 than it was in 2000, and the trend has continued to the present day. This viewpoint considers the significance of the s136 rise from the theoretical perspective of causal analysis.

The role of the nearest relative in mental health law

2020 ◽  
Vol 29 (21) ◽  
pp. 1296-1297
Author(s):  
Richard Griffith
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Health Law ◽  
Senior Lecturer ◽  
Mental Health Law ◽  
Mental Health Act

Richard Griffith, Senior Lecturer in Health Law at Swansea University, considers the role of the nearest relative, a statutory friend, appointed for patients detained under the Mental Health Act 1983

Comment: ‘Devining’ The Role of the Consultant Psychiatrist in a Public Mental Health Service

1998 ◽  
Vol 32 (5) ◽  
pp. 612-615 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alan Rosen
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Illness ◽  
Mental Health Service ◽  
Public Mental Health ◽  
Consultant Psychiatrist ◽  
Persistent Mental Illness ◽  
Public Mental Health Service ◽  
Key Players ◽  
Recovery Program

We admitted to ourselves, …and to our colleagues that we cannot treat people with severe and persistent mental illness as independent practitioners, and asked to be key players on the multidisciplinary team (Extract from A 12-Step Recovery Program for Psychiatrists [1]).

R v Westwood (Thomas): diminished responsibility and disposals under the Mental Health Act 1983

2021 ◽  
Vol 72 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sean Mennim
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Illness ◽  
England And Wales ◽  
Mental Health Act ◽  
Court Of Appeal ◽  
Diminished Responsibility

This is a commentary on R v Westwood (Thomas), where the Court of Appeal of England and Wales held that the judge had erred in assessing Westwood’s ‘retained responsibility’ as medium to high under the Sentencing Council Guideline for manslaughter by reason of diminished responsibility. Although the sentencing judge concluded that the offending was caused by Westwood’s anger, the Court of Appeal found the psychiatric evidence clearly indicated that the most significant factor was Westwood’s mental illness and that his anger at the time of the offence was a manifestation of his mental illness. Westwood’s responsibility was low, and it was appropriate to impose both a hospital and restriction order.  

The law

2009 ◽  
pp. 459-498
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Human Rights ◽  
Compulsory Admission ◽  
Sexual Offences ◽  
Disability Discrimination ◽  
Mental Health Act ◽  
Assessment And Treatment ◽  
Human Rights Act ◽  
Disability Discrimination Act ◽  
Health Review

Mental Health Act 1983 460 Mental Health Act 2007 462 Compulsory admission to hospital for assessment and treatment 464 Emergency holding powers 466 Mental Health Review Tribunals 468 The Mental Health Act Commission 470 Sexual Offences Act 472 Disability Discrimination Act 2005 474 Human Rights Act ...

Biopsychosocial pathways to mental health and disease across the lifespan: The emerging role of epigenetics

2020 ◽  
pp. 190-206
Author(s):  
Charlotte A.M. Cecil
Keyword(s):  
Gene Expression ◽  
Mental Health ◽  
Dna Methylation ◽  
Mental Illness ◽  
Psychiatric Disorders ◽  
Regulate Gene Expression ◽  
Health And Disease ◽  
Regulate Gene ◽  
Epigenetic Processes

The biopsychosocial (BPS) model of psychiatry has had a major impact on our modern conceptualization of mental illness as a complex, multi-determined phenomenon. Yet, interdisciplinary BPS work remains the exception, rather than the rule in psychiatry. It has been suggested that this may stem in part from a failure of the BPS model to clearly delineate the mechanisms through which biological, psychological, and social factors co-act in the development of mental illness. This chapter discusses how epigenetic processes that regulate gene expression, such as DNA methylation, are fast emerging as a candidate mechanism for BPS interactions, with potentially widespread implications for the way that psychiatric disorders are understood, assessed, and, perhaps in future, even treated.

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