Bid to adapt bill to needs in Wales

Welsh assembly members have called for the Mental Health Bill to be applied differently in Wales.

They have urged Welsh health minister Dr Brian Gibbons (pictured) to seek “framework powers” from the government to adapt it to the specific needs of service users there. The powers would allow the assembly to draw up its own mental health regulations rather than be tied to those outlined in the bill.

The moves follow concerns by Welsh mental health groups that the bill is not “workable” in the country and would hinder preventive, community-based services.

But Gibbons has voiced his opposition to creating Welsh regulations, citing confusion in border areas.

Meanwhile, the UK parliament’s joint committee on human rights this week called for improved safeguards in the bill for people subject to the proposed community treatment orders and for those treated compulsorily in care homes.