A coalition of nurses, occupational therapists, psychologists
has called on MPs to overturn key changes made by peers
to the Mental Health Bill.
A briefing ahead of this week's second reading of the bill in
the House of Commons suggested changes made by peers that
require doctors to make decisions on detention would
reintroduce "outmoded hierarchies" into mental health services.
The briefing, by Unison, the Mental Health Nurses Association
and the British Psychological Society among others, said original
proposals in the bill to extend the range of practitioners beyond
psychiatrists who could take such decisions contained stringent
safeguards.
And the organisations said their members have "a significantly
higher level of interaction with service users resulting in
stronger relationships than doctors are able to achieve".
After being considered as a whole in its second reading, the
bill will be debated by MPs in detail in a committee, which will
also consider evidence from outside organisations.
The government has indicated that it intends to reverse all the
changes made by peers, which included the introduction of greater
safeguards in the use of compulsory community treatment and the
requirement that compulsory treatment has some clinical
benefit.
However, a public poll published by the Royal College of
Psychiatrists this week found that
72 per cent of those surveyed did not believe
people with mental health problems should be forced to have
"treatment" from which they cannot benefit.
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Simeon Brody