Thousands face compulsory treatment in the community under new UK act

The number of community based patients treated compulsorily under the proposed new mental health legislation could be close to 10 times higher than the government expects, a report by the King's Fund has said.

If the controversial Mental Health Bill 2004 becomes law, in the first 10 to 15 years between 7800 and 13 000 people could be subject to compulsory orders, the medical think tank said.

The Department of Health dismissed the report saying that the “lack of quality data and weakness in analysis” meant that the estimates were “flawed” and failed to …