Getty ImagesPolice will no longer be able to hold people detained for mental health reasons in police cells under the Government’s plans for England and Wales.
Police officers can now use their cells as “safe spaces” for up to 24 hours, allowing people in need of urgent treatment to seek medical attention.
Aiming to modernize decades-old mental health laws, the new law will also introduce additional rights for people receiving treatment.
Charities have widely welcomed the changes, while highlighting the need for better funding for mental health.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting said the “outdated” system needed to be changed to “bring it into the 21st century”.
People can be detained or isolated under the Mental Health Act for their own safety or the safety of others.
A complete ban on the use of police cells in custody was first proposed in legislation published under Boris Johnson’s government following an extensive review of the Mental Health Act published in 2018.
However, despite extensive scrutiny by lawmakers, the bill was not introduced in Congress before the July election.
Under current law, a person who police deem to be mentally ill and “in need of immediate care or control” can be detained to assess potential treatment.
Last year, 34,685 people were detained in such circumstances, the majority in health facilities such as hospital A&E departments.
Some 314 detainees, or about 1%, were sent to police cells, down from about 4% in 2017, when usage restrictions were tightened.
People detained in police cells are usually held for only 24 hours, during which time they must be examined by a social worker and a doctor.
A bipartisan parliamentary committee that scrutinized the previous proposal welcomed the ban, but called for changes to include more suitable places to restrain people in medical settings.
detention limit
Labor had promised to reform the Mental Health Act in its election manifesto, branding the current law, which was developed in the 1980s, as “grossly outdated”.
They argued that the current system discriminates against black people. more likely to be detainedaccording to official statistics, also criticized how the system treats people with autism and learning disabilities.
A new mental health bill due to be published on Wednesday will introduce a 28-day limit on the length of detention for autistic people and people with learning disabilities, unless they have a co-occurring mental health condition.
It would also strengthen people’s right to choose who represents their interests and introduce additional requirements for clinicians to consult with people close to patients about their care.
The rules for issuing community treatment orders, which impose certain monitoring conditions on detainees who have been discharged from hospital, are also expected to be changed.
The Ministry of Health said its use would be made more “appropriate” but gave no details.
“Human Rights Scandal”
The bill implements proposals contained in the Conservative bill, including raising the threshold for people to be detained and requiring that proposed treatments have a realistic prospect of having a therapeutic effect. It is expected that this will almost always be reflected.
One area that is expected to differ is giving patients the right to document their wishes for treatment if they become unwell.
The Conservative government had refused to make this a legal right, saying its priority was to maintain flexibility and did not want to create a hierarchy of different documents.
Labor has previously said the changes in the bill will take several years to be fully implemented to allow time to “recruit and train more clinical and judicial staff”.
The National Autistic Society said it welcomed the bill as a chance to end a “human rights scandal” of inappropriate detention.
Mental health charity Mind also said the bill would bring England and Wales “one step closer to a more progressive mental health system”, but said it needed “adequate funding” to alleviate the “mental health emergency”. He added that it would be necessary.
