Recently – as I’m located well north in the UK – I’ve been observing patterns in cultures that vary from ‘the South’. A few days ago, some ‘folk’ asked me about what’s different. People broke out in laughter when I said, “Well, the prominent thing I noticed is that toilets flush more violently up here.” … Read more
change, cultural, culture, management, patterns, practices, tradition
Trouble in NZ: Homicide and Insanity twice
TheEditor
In a case described as “shrouded in secrecy,” a man in New Zealand has been found not guilty of murder by way of insanity twice after committing two separate homicides . The first killing occurred over two decades ago, during which he was ruled legally insane and designated a “special patient” under New Zealand’s Mental … Read more
UK Supreme court rules that a woman is a woman
TheEditor
The recent UK Supreme Court judgment in For Women Scotland Ltd v The Scottish Ministers ([2025] UKSC 16) has clarified a long-standing ambiguity in equality law: what does the term “woman” mean in the Equality Act 2010? The court ruled that “woman” refers to biological sex, not gender identity or legal sex as defined by … Read more
care, equality, gender, law, protection, psychiatry, rights, sex
Beyond Cheshire West: A Triangular Framework for Decision Making
The intersection of mental health law and clinical practice creates complex decision-making challenges for practitioners. A conceptual framework, which we call the Decision-making Triangle, offers clarity in navigating these challenges. This triangle comprises three interconnected elements: the acid test for deprivation of liberty, the definition of treatment under Section 145 of the Mental Health Act, … Read more
Cheshire West: What’s to be learned?
The Cheshire West case serves as a seminal authority on the interpretation of deprivation of liberty within the framework of the Mental Capacity Act and the European Convention on Human Rights. It has established a robust legal precedent, emphasising the universality of the right to liberty and the necessity of rigorous procedural safeguards to protect … Read more
Section 136: A Framework in Crisis
From 2017 changes to the MHA 1983 reduced the period of detention under 136 from 72 hours to 24 hours, with a provision to extend to 36 hours. Mental Health Services had struggled to deliver when the timeframe was 72 hours. Now they struggle even more, leading to unquantified instances nationally where Trusts have had … Read more