| Protest: About The Draft Mental Health Bill
The following outlines some concerns about the Draft Mental Health Bill. The first is by PAB itself, and others include National Voices Forum, Critical Mental Health Forum and a link to the full version of the original bill from the Dept of Health's own website (warning: it's very long). More information, interpretations and general bumf can be found in the 'resources' section.. The direct voices of psychiatric users and survivors have been ignored for too long! As you may or may not know, this government is currently pushing for controversial plans to reform the Mental Health Act of 1983. Unfortunately, some of the changes suggested by the government have caused almost universal concern amongst psychiatric survivors, user groups, mental health charities, those working within the mental health professions and legal specialists. One example is the Community Treatment Order, or CTO for short. Under such an order, a person would be obliged to take medication within the community. If they refused to accept this, they could be sectioned and have the drugs forcibly administered, regardless of their emotional state. A person subject to a CTO would also be required to live at a specific location and attend certain places at certain times. At present, widespread compulsion is limited by the number of beds available in hospitals. If compulsory treatment in the community becomes law, then such limits will be removed, potentially leaving the way clear for thousands more people to be medicated against their will, outside of the hospital environment. Other proposals have caused further concern, such as the government’s wish to detain some people diagnosed with a severe personality disorder for potentially indefinite periods, even if they’ve never committed a violent crime. If such proposals ever make it into law, they will radically worsen the way that people with severe mental stress are treated by both society and the mental health system. However, despite concerns raised by many people in the world of mental health, this government appears determined to victimise those of us who’ve been diagnosed with mental health problems. Although the draft Mental Health Bill was temporarily postponed from the Queen’s speech last year, recent comments by Alan Milburn, Jacqui Smith and others reveal a desire to push forward with many of the more draconian aspects of the Bill, however it’s redrafted. With this in mind, a number of psychiatric users and survivors got together and formed a group called ‘Protest against the Mental Health Bill’ (‘PAB’ for short). At present, we have two main projects running: The OUTCRY conference and the 'message in a bottle' campaign. We are also in the process of organising a range of protests against the Bill. See the rest of this website for more information, or email us at info@outcryconference.co.uk National Voices Forum:‘Responses To The New Mental Health Act Proposals’ (Click HERE) Critical Mental Health Forum: 'Response to the Draft Mental Health Bill' (Click HERE) The Dept Of Health: The full version of the Draft Mental Health Bill (Click HERE) NEXT: Details of Upcoming Protests Against The Bill © PAB (2003) All Rights Reserved
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