Your support helps us tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to big tech, The Independent is where the stories unfold. Whether it’s investigating the finances of Elon Musk’s pro-Trump PAC or producing The A Word, a new documentary highlighting American women fighting for reproductive rights, we rely on events to We know how important it is to analyze the facts. Messaging.
At such a critical moment in American history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to continue sending journalists to work with stories on both sides of the aisle.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news organizations, we don’t use a paywall to shut Americans off from our reporting or analysis. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone and paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.
Proposed changes to the Mental Health Act risk exacerbating racial inequalities and criminalizing people with autism, experts say, as ministers warn plans will be ‘meaningless’ without funding I am doing it.
The government has introduced the Mental Health Bill seven years after the previous Conservative government first announced a review of the bill. This bill is a long-awaited amendment.
But leading experts have warned Labor needs to work on its mental health funding plan amid fears ministers will backtrack on investment commitments made under the Conservatives. I am doing it.
The Mental Health Investment Standard was introduced into the NHS in 2015, pledging to increase investment in mental health to the same level as investment in physical health, and was met under the Conservative government.
However, when people ask, independent person The Department of Health and Human Services declined to comment on whether it can continue to comply with this standard.
Dr Sarah Hughes, Chief Executive Officer of Mind, said: independent person: “Laws alone will not solve the mental health crisis. A new mental health bill must go hand in hand with adequate funding to deliver the large-scale change that is sorely needed.” No.
“This is also the view of the Joint Committee on the draft Mental Health Bill, that community care and preventive services require significant long-term investment, or else reforms will result in the same people they are trying to help. It became clear that there was a risk of failure.”1st place. ”
“To unlock the potential, the government must ensure a continued commitment to mental health investment standards. [MHIS]Protect your mental health spending. ”
Worsening inequality
Under current law, a person who police deem to be mentally ill and “in need of immediate care or control” can be taken into custody to be tested for possible treatment.
A new mental health bill announced on Wednesday will introduce a 28-day limit on the length of detention for autistic people and people with learning disabilities. This is a move to address the more than 2,000 people with learning disabilities and autism who are inappropriately admitted to hospital.
Contributed by Health Minister Wes Streeting independent person It said the reforms would “tack on racism and improve support for people with learning disabilities”.
The new law also allows for Community Treatment Orders (CTOs), which are used to treat divided patients locally, where appropriate and appropriate. Research shows that CTOs have been disproportionately used against black and minority ethnic patients.
but, independent person We understand that the changes to the Mental Health Act do not apply to laws that are used to detain people through criminal channels, where more black and minority ethnic people are detained.
Dr Lade Smith, president of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, who worked on the review of the Mental Health Act, warned: This did not exist in previous legislation. ”
Dr Smith also predicted that withdrawing the use of the Act to “treat” people with learning disabilities and autism would lead to more A&E admissions and arrests of neurodiverse people experiencing crisis. He said that this could lead to undesirable consequences.
in a statement to independent, Julie Newcombe, Alexis Quinn and Dawn Kavanagh from campaign groups Rightful Lives and Stolen Lives said: The place to go is not a prison or a police cell.
“We’re not saying it’s okay to lock people up in hospitals. We’re saying it’s okay to lock people up in hospitals. We need to provide appropriate community care to prevent people from being in pain and not having to go to hospital. We support those who seek it.
“What we don’t support is removing the safety net, and that would make things even worse.”
The group said under the proposed changes, which would remove section 3 from people with autism and learning disabilities, people detained in hospitals would have no legal right to receive state-funded care after short-term discharge. He pointed out that they would no longer have any rights.
meaningless
The announcement has also raised concerns from those in the sector about the lack of new funding promised by the government for mental health services.
One senior leader said these reforms “will end up being pointless because they will end up locking up people in crisis and delaying their discharge from hospital due to suitable alternatives.”
They said: ‘We are concerned that the new Mental Health Act and its claims of improvement will not be supported by investment, growth and reduced waiting lists, adequate access…The new MHA is therefore a choice and will be lip service to control.”
Dr Smith also called on mental health hospitals to equitably allocate capital expenditures to address the “inadequate” conditions in their buildings.
She said: “We urgently need investment in mental health assets. The Government must allocate and set out £44 million to quickly address this high-risk maintenance backlog. We should also consider introducing “health investment standards.”
Mark Winstanley, executive director of Rethink Mental Illness, said: “To truly realize its potential, new laws need funding to ensure they are effectively implemented.
“Alongside this, the Government should maintain and reaffirm its commitment to mental health investment standards to ensure funding is protected and not at risk of being diverted to other cash-strapped sectors of the NHS.”
He warned that without MHIS safeguards, charities fear the Government’s promise to equalize mental health will not be fulfilled as NHS services are under pressure.
Andy Bell, chief executive of the Center for Mental Health, said: “The Mental Health Investment Standard provides important protection for local mental health services to maintain their share of NHS funding.” . A government commitment to maintaining this minimum standard is essential, but also a commitment to ensuring more equitable funding for mental health services in the long term to address the shortcomings of the current system. ”
DHSC statement
A DHSC spokesperson said: “Our outdated mental health system is failing some of society’s most vulnerable people and needs urgent reform.”
“The Mental Health Bill includes measures to ensure people with learning disabilities and autism get the support they need in the community, improve their care and keep them out of hospital. Masu.
“By bringing the Mental Health Act into the 21st century, we will ensure patients are treated with dignity and respect and the public is kept safe.”
