mental health law

Working together to provide age-appropriate environments and services for mental health patients aged under 18

The new section 131A of the Mental Health Act is due to come into force in April 2010. This amendment will ensure that patients aged under 18 are treated in an environment in hospital which is suitable having regard to their age, with the purpose of preventing the inappropriate admission of children and young people to adult psychiatric wards. This briefing highlights how commissioners can work together to meet the new duty on age-appropriate accommodation in a timely manner.

Leading by example : making the NHS an exemplar employer of people with mental health problems

Booklet intended as an aid for NHS managers and others in offering employment opportunities for mental health service users and improving working lives and job retention for all staff in their workplace. It provides good practice examples of employing people with mental health problems and contains practical tools to help implement organisational change.

A missed opportunity?: community sentences and the mental health treatment requirement

The Mental Health Treatment Requirement (MHTR) is one of 12 options (‘requirements’) available to sentencers when constructing a Community Order or a Suspended Sentence Order. The MHTR can be given to an offender with mental health problems who does not require immediate compulsory hospital admission under the Mental Health Act. If they give their consent, the MHTR requires them to receive mental health treatment for a specified period.