Forum Brief: Mental health

Protesters have urged MPs and peers to force a government rethink on controversial mental health legislation.

Around 1500 people are expected to take part in a mass lobby of parliament this afternoon, expressing anger at government plans to extend compulsory treatment for those diagnosed with severe illnesses.

Ministers have been warned by an official watchdog that their proposals could breach human rights legislation.

Forum Brief: Disability Rights Commission

Bert Massie, chairman for the Disability Rights Commission, told ePolitix.com: "There are some proposals which we welcome but others which clearly discriminate against people with mental health problems.

"However, the bill does not meet the principles of non-discrimination and might contravene the Human Rights Act.

"We need a new approach which ensures that only people who are incapable of making informed decisions are subject to compulsory treatment."

Forum Brief: SANE

Marjorie Wallace, chief executive of SANE, told ePolitix.com: "SANE will take part in today's lobby of parliament to send a message to government that its draft bill is unworkable and that without a government commitment to ensure that the trained staff, appropriate beds and supervised accommodation are in place, new legislation will have little chance of proper implementation.

"We believe that the bill focuses too strongly on the compulsion of an individual with mental illness rather than their positive rights to assessment and treatment and the duty of the mental health services to make help available before a person becomes so ill that compulsion becomes necessary."

Forum Brief: Depression Alliance

A spokesperson for the Depression Alliance told ePolitix.com: "The Draft Mental Health Bill 2002 not only threatens those with personality disorder but anyone with any mental illness. The bill should be rejected for the following key reasons:"It contravenes Articles Three and Five of the European Convention on Human Rights. It is highly stigmatising and will deter people with mental illness from seeking help."It is likely to lead to a safety first culture in which people are detained due to a perception of risk rather than any actual threat to themselves and/or others. It will result in more bureaucracy leading to less patient care.

"It will lead to people receiving inadequate services due to bed blocking, overstretching of community psychiatric services and thousands of people having to fall back on primary care services."Without massive extra resources, it will fail in its objective of preventing people with mental illnesses committing homicide and suicide; and will make ordinary mental health care unworkable in practice."Forum response: The Disabilities Trust

A spokesman for the Disabilities Trust said: "The Disabilities Trust has major concerns about the proposed draft Mental Health Bill and we echo the fears expressed by the Disability Rights Commission.

"It is vital that any new legislation does not increase discrimination and further stigmatise people with mental health problems.

"For example any plans to substantially extend the numbers of people who may be subject to compulsory treatment orders (which might include some people with autistic spectrum disorder), is a very unwelcome and retrograde step and represents a major overreaction to what is a very small minority of people with mental health problems who may represent a genuine public risk."