Response the the King's Speech from Rethink Mental
Illness
Today's King's Speech did not include reform of the Mental Health
Act, which the government has previously promised to introduce.
Parliamentary timelines mean that the Act will now not be
reformed before the next general election.
It's vital that we have legislation in place so that people in
mental health crisis can be kept safe and treated without their
consent if necessary, but concerns have been raised for decades
that the current Mental Health Act isn't fit for purpose and can
enable harm. Please see a comment from our chief executive, as
well as a quote from someone with personal experience of being
detained. We've also included some background context on the
Mental Health Act at the bottom of this email if helpful. Let me
know if you need anything else.
Mark Winstanley, Chief Executive of Rethink Mental
Illness, said:
“Today’s King’s Speech was the last opportunity for
this government to honour its commitment to reform the
Mental Health Act. The failure to introduce a Mental Health Bill
is a profound betrayal to people that have been
detained under the Mental Health Act and everyone who
has campaigned for decades to reform it. It is
difficult not to conclude that the march of progress
to prioritise the nation’s mental health and
challenge the stigma of mental illness has stalled. What
makes this decision even harder to swallow is that reform had
been mapped out and agreed in draft legislation and has
cross-party support.
“The Mental Health Act is a crucial piece of legislation that
keeps people safe when they are unwell and in crisis. In doing
so, it removes rights that many of us take for
granted – detaining people, often against their
will, and stripping away choices over treatment. Now forty
years old, the legislation has failed to keep pace
with the world we live in, and the need to protect people
while respecting their wishes and dignity. The act in
its current form also exacerbates racial injustice,
seeing a disproportionate number of Black men
detained under its powers.
“Aware that progress does not always follow a straight
path, we remain committed to reform. That means that we
must take the sadness and anger we feel today, and channel it
into our efforts to bring about change.”
Zoe Hazel, 32 from Ramsgate in Kent has a diagnosis of
bipolar disorder/EUPD and has experience of being detained under
the Mental Health Act:
“If you’re detained under the Mental Health Act, you don’t really
have a say in where your treatment is heading and what kind of
medication you take, even if it’s making you feel worse. You have
to do what you’re told and that can compound your distress. It
feels really dehumanising to have your rights and choices taken
away from you. I might be unwell but I’m still me, and not having
a voice is so hard. That’s why reform of the Mental Health Act is
so important to me.
“People deserve better when they’re so unwell. So many of us with
lived experience have put our hearts and souls into the campaign
for reform. It’s hard to put into words how important it is, and
how amazing it would feel to finally see the Mental Health Act
reformed.
“So many people will feel let down that we have to wait longer
for reform. It feels like we don’t matter, that the government
don’t think people severely affected by mental illness are
important enough, that change isn’t urgent even though it’s well
overdue. I’ll never stop campaigning, but it feels like a real
setback after all the work we’ve been doing.”
Background context
People living with mental illness, their families and
organisations have been raising concerns for decades that the
Mental Health Act, which first came into force over forty years
ago, isn't fit-for-purpose. In its 2019 manifesto, the
Conservative government pledged to 'legislate so that patients
suffering from mental health conditions, including anxiety or
depression, have greater control over their treatment and receive
the dignity and respect they deserve.'
Last year, the government published the draft Mental Health Bill,
setting out reforms to the Mental Health Act. A joint committee
of MPs was established, which launched a call for evidence and
held hearings with experts and people with lived experience. The
committee published recommendations for
strengthening the Mental Health Bill in January this
year. But the government hadn't yet introduced the bill to
parliament and said it will do so 'when parliamentary time
allows.'
The latest statistics on the Mental Health Act, published in
October last year for 2021/22, revealed that:
- There were 53,337 detentions recorded under the Mental Health
Act.
- Amongst the five broad ethnic groups, known rates of
detention for the ‘Black or Black British’ group (341.7
detentions per 100,000 population) were over four times those of
the White group (72.4 per 100,000 population).
- Amongst broad ethnic groups, known rates of Community
Treatment Orders (CTOs) for the ‘Black or Black British’ group
(75.5 uses per 100,000 population) were over eleven times the
rate for the White group (6.8 uses per 100,000 population).
