#MHTchat: rights to an advocate under the Mental Health Act
What role should advocates play for people detained under the Mental Health Act, and how can we improve access?
Advocates – who are they and what do they do?
Independent advocates help patients understand their rights under the Mental Health Act. A patient can also apply to the court to have a nearest relative appointed to represent them, or the…
NHS charging £21,000 to disclose shock therapy use
Health service rejects Freedom Of Information requests submitted by Mental Health Today to share latest data on use of electroconvulsive therapy, which was rising year-on-year before public reporting stopped.
Joining the dots – why the law should require NHS Trusts to do more to connect patients to advocates
"The Mental Health Act and its Code should be amended, so that instead of mere information being given as a starting point, the patient is given a directory of advocates…
‘Compassion fatigue threatens NHS’ warns mental health trust chief
Sussex Mental Health Trust's Chief Executive says the mental health of both staff and patients is at risk, with full bed occupancy and a £2 billion budget deficit continuing to undermine the national health service.
Exclusive: ‘Psychiatric treatment not prison must be the way forward for offenders with mental disorders’, say Royal College of Psychiatrists
A call is being made for more prisons to join the Royal College of Psychiatrists’ Quality Network for prisons – a voluntary scheme which aims to set, agree and monitor…
‘The returning normalisation of sectioning and invasive treatment demands new legislation’
The number of applications made by healthcare professionals to detain people in hospitals under the Mental Health Act has risen by 40 percent in the last decade.
Sectioning applications up 40 percent in last decade
A regulator's review says: "Police and clinicians wish to ensure there are legal safeguards in place when caring for people who lack mental capacity."
#MHTchat: does diagnosis help or hinder?
We host a Twitter discussion using the hashtag #MHTchat every Wednesday at 12pm.
‘People power’ key to recovery from addiction
Services for people with addiction coupled with mental health problems could be transformed through social action, says a report published today.