Compulsory treatment but not necessarily admission to hospital is the "way forward" for treating people with serious mental health problems, a professor of forensic psychiatry told MPs and peers last week.

Tony Maden told the joint committee scrutinising the draft Mental Health Bill that he was strongly in favour of its proposals for compulsory community treatment orders.

He added that the treatability test, which has been replaced by one of clinical appropriateness, "had to go".
Under the draft bill clinicians would not have to be certain that treatment will lead to improvements in symptoms but just "be confident that they are doing the right thing".