Detaining dangerous people with mental disorders

doi:10.1136/bmj.325.7365.659

BMJ 2002;325:659 ( 21 September )

Letters

Detaining dangerous people with mental disorders

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

EDITOR $---$ Birmingham summarises the latest version of the proposed new Mental Health Act.¹ I was surprised, however, thatthe proposals have attracted as much libertarian opposition asthe several earlier announcements. The consultation document promisesthat now, a primary aim is to bring the law more closely intoline with modern law on human rights. The government had alreadyadopted the phrase "medical treatment" in preference to the current"treatment in hospital" to achieve one of its key aims $---$ compulsorycare in the community. It has now embraced even further the wordingof the leading European human rights case,² and as Birminghamnotes, dropped completely the "detention to manage behaviour"approach.

In the new draft bill, compulsory treatment requires that a patient must have a mental disorder of such a nature or degreeas to warrant the provision of medical treatment. In my view thisis a much better . . . [Full text of this article]