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Mental health charities in Scotland are concerned that next year's elections could obstruct the introduction of a new act to protect people with mental health problems, writes Nicola Barry.

The new mental health bill, published for debate in parliament this week, has taken a total of three years to get to this stage, and now the Scottish Association for Mental Health fears legislation might be delayed even further.

SAMH chief executive Shona Barcus warned that March 2003 was the cut-off point for any new legislation ahead of next May's Scottish parliamentary elections.

"It seems ironic that such a crucial piece of legislation has only got six months to make its way through parliament," she said. "If everybody does not agree on its content by next March it could be too late and we may not have a new act - even after all this.

"Barcus added: "Whilst the proposals are not as draconian as the new legislation being proposed south of the border, there are areas causing us great concern."

Controversial areas include the introduction of new powers to compel people to take medication in the community and the need for greater safeguards around the use of psychiatric treatments like electro-convulsive therapy and neurosurgery for mental disorder.

There is also a need to invest in community mental health services to ensure compulsory interventions are kept to a minimum.
But Barcus added that many of the proposals in the new bill were widely supported, including the introduction of tribunals to replace the role of sheriff courts in "sectioning" patients, and the introduction of a new right for service users to nominate a named person who can protect their interests.