Articles for tag: assessment, freedoms, human rights, law, medication, psychiatry, respect, rights, risk, standards, treatment

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, …

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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 …

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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 …

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Mental Health Tribunals

This article provides a detailed explanation of Mental Health Tribunals (MHTs) within the context of the Mental Health Act (MHA) 1983 in England and Wales. The MHA 1983 (Amended 2007) provides the legal framework for the compulsory admission to hospital for treatment or assessment of individuals experiencing mental disorders that may pose a risk to …

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Dream or reality?

In this article I focus mainly on public sector health care consultations. It is an open ‘secret’ that UK public health services are: short of staff, doctors are overworked, many groups of staff are suffering with burnout, clinic sessions are quite time-limited, follow-up visits are few and far between, patients are often not given sufficient …

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Accountable health services

All public health services are accountable in the UK. This post provides an in-depth exploration of patient rights and accountability within the National Health Service (NHS) in the UK, focusing mainly on services in England. It delves into the sources of legally protected rights for patients, the mechanisms for holding the NHS accountable, and the …

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Best interests and material risk

‘Best interests’ (BI) is a term used by average people who often make caring or ‘parental’ decisions about their children or loved ones. In medical practice the concept means a lot more, and its full meaning is wrapped in statute and common law precedent. This article will focus primarily on medically-related decision-making – and mainly …

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