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The government may amend parts of the draft mental health bill, the mental health tsar has hinted.

Louis Appleby, national director for mental health, said that people's apprehensions had been understood and there were legitimate concerns that the government needed to respond to.

"It's not enough just to say you've misunderstood. We've got to say we'll do what we can to make sure those fears are properly allayed," he said.

"We must make sure the bill doesn't allow things that aren't intended. It's got to be presented in a way that doesn't make possible at any time in the future things that aren't intended for a mental health act."