UK Government announces plans for Mental Health Act reform

Posted 4 years ago

The UK Government has announced their plan for a reform of the Mental Health Act 1983, which will make changes to the way people are sectioned in England & Wales.

Right now, when an individual is detained under the act, they are immediately considered to be “sectioned”, regardless of how long they are detained for.

Ministers talk of plans to have people be treated “as individuals with rights, preferences, and expertise”. The document also proposes that individuals will be given more control over their treatment and they also mention improving the way that people with learning disabilities and autistic people are treated in law.

Additionally, the whitepaper sets out a proposal to take action to address the disproportionate detention of those of BAME backgrounds.

According to the BBC, black people are currently over four times more likely to be detained under the Mental Health Act, relative to population.

We need to bring mental health laws into the 21st Century.

I want to ensure our health service works for all, yet the Mental Health Act is now 40 years old.

This is a significant moment in how we support those with serious mental health issues, which will give people more autonomy over their care and will tackle disparities for all who access services – in particular for people from minority ethnic backgrounds.

Matt Hancock, Health Secretary

Seeing that the Government has recognised a flaw in their own system that puts certain groups of people at a disadvantage, it should be understood that all businesses must keep an eye out for similar things occurring in the workplace.

We offer an online Equality & Diversity Training course that helps users to understand what is considered unacceptable behaviour in the eyes of The Equality Act 2010, including discrimination, harassment, and prejudice.

Other key changes that are proposed in the whitepaper include:

Improving access to community-based mental health support
introducing statutory “advance choice documents” to enable people to express their wishes and preferences on their care
Expanding the role of independent mental health advocates to offer a greater level of support

Ministers intend to publish a Mental Health Bill in 2022, following a consultation on their plans laid out in the whitepaper.

Mental Health & Wellbeing in the workplace

As a company, we’re strong advocates for removing the negative stigma surrounding mental health and encouraging people to get talking about the topic. We understand that there are countless benefits as a result of informing staff about the different types of mental health problems, and how to properly manage mental ill-health.

With that said, we offer a number of Mental Health & Wellbeing Training courses that help the user to understand how to identify & deal with mental ill-health and stress at work.

Included in the bundle are courses like:

You can claim your free, no-obligation trial to any of the courses today!

If you’re looking for more information on the Mental Health Act Reform, see the Government website here.