The Mental Health Act
The Mental Health Act 1983 covers the rights, assessment and treatment of people suffering from a mental health condition.
For further information - click hereThe Act details how, if necessary, a person can be treated for a serious condition without their consent. The reasons for needing to do this might be to:
- Stop that condition from getting worse
- Prevent a person from harming themselves
- Prevent a person from harming others
It sets out the processes that must be followed and the safeguards that are in place to make sure a person is treated in the most appropriate way.
All professional staff dealing with people suffering from a mental health condition should work to The Mental Health Act Code of Practice which asks them to:
- Respect a service user’s past and present wishes and feelings
- Respect diversity generally including, in particular, diversity of religion, culture and sexual orientation (within the meaning of section 35 of the Equality Act 2006)
- Minimise restrictions on liberty
- Involve service users in planning, developing and delivering the care and treatment appropriate to them
- Avoid unlawful discrimination
- Ensure the effectiveness of treatment
- Know and take into account the views of carers and other interested parties
- Think about patient well-being and safety
- Think about public safety
Not following these principles could give rise to a legal challenge.
For further information on The Mental Health Act Code of Practice
click here.
Advance Decisions
If you know that your capacity to consent may be affected in the future should you become unwell and are unable to make a decision about treatment, you can pre-arrange a legally binding advance decision (previously known as an advance directive).
For further information - click hereAn advance decision sets out the procedures and treatments that you consent to, and the procedures and treatments that you do not consent to. This means that the healthcare professionals treating you cannot perform certain procedures or treatments against your wishes.
In order for an advance decision to be valid, it must be very specific about what you do not want done, under what circumstances and why you are refusing it. It is made when you are well and are able to understand the implications of refusing the specific treatment.
Although many Advance Decisions do not have to be in writing, if you want to make an Advance Decision covering treatment provided by the Care Trust we
will always ask for it to be in writing as that will help everyone to understand
and follow your wishes.
The healthcare professionals who are treating you must follow the advance decision, providing that it is valid and applicable. If there is any doubt about the advance decision, the case can be referred to the Court of Protection, which is the legal body that oversees the Mental Capacity Act (2005).
It is important to remember that an Advance Decision cannot be used to refuse basic care. Anyone over the age of 18 who has the capacity to decide how they don’t want to be treated if they become unwell can make an advance decision.
Advance Statement
An Advance Statement is a document that you complete when you are well regarding your care and treatment should you become unwell. An advance statement does not have to be in writing and might more accurately be described as an expression of wishes that is not an Advance Decision. During a crisis you may be too ill to make an informed decision. This is a way of telling people what you would like to happen, before that situation occurs.
Anyone over the age of 16 who has the capacity to make decisions and would like to decide how their care will be managed if they become unwell can make an Advance Statement.
