The Mental Act 2007 is an Act

Act of Parliament

An Act of Parliament is a statute enacted as primary legislation by a national or sub-national parliament. In the Republic of Ireland the term Act of the Oireachtas is used, and in the United States the term Act of Congress is used.In Commonwealth countries, the term is used both in a narrow...

 of the Parliament

Parliament

A parliament is a legislature, especially in those countries whose system of government is based on the Westminster system modeled after that of the United Kingdom. The name is derived from the French , the action of parler : a parlement is a discussion. The term came to mean a meeting at which...

 of the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

. It amends the Mental Health Act 1983

Mental Health Act 1983

The Mental Health Act 1983 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which applies to people in England and Wales. It covers the reception, care and treatment of mentally disordered persons, the management of their property and other related matters...

 and the Mental Capacity Act 2005

Mental Capacity Act 2005

The Mental Capacity Act 2005 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Its primary purpose is to provide a legal framework for acting and making decisions on behalf of adults who lack the capacity to make particular decisions for themselves....

. It applies to people in England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 and Wales

Wales

Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...

. Most of the Act was implemented on 3 November 2008.

It introduces significant changes which include:

• Introduction of Supervised Community Treatment, including Community Treatment Orders (CTOs). This new power replaces supervised discharge with a power to return the patient to hospital, where the person may be forcibly medicated, if the medication regime is not being complied with in the community.
• Redefining professional roles: broadening the range of mental health professionals who can be responsible for the treatment of patients without their consent.
• Nearest relative: making it possible for some patients to appoint a civil partner as nearest relative.
• Definition of mental disorder: introduce a new definition of mental disorder throughout the Act, abolishing previous categories
• Criteria for Involuntary commitment
  Involuntary commitment
  Involuntary commitment or civil commitment is a legal process through which an individual with symptoms of severe mental illness is court-ordered into treatment in a hospital or in the community ....
  
  : introduce a requirement that someone cannot be detained for treatment unless appropriate treatment is available and remove the treatability test.
• Mental Health Review Tribunal
  Mental Health Review Tribunal
  The Mental Health Review Tribunal consists of two distinct bodies, within a single non-departmental public body, which exist to protect the rights of persons subject to the Mental Health Act 1983 in England and Wales in the United Kingdom...
  
   (MHRT): improve patient safeguards by taking an order-making power which will allow the current time limit to be varied and for automatic referral by hospital managers to the MHRT.
• Introduction of independent mental health advocates
  Advocacy
  Advocacy is a political process by an individual or a large group which normally aims to influence public-policy and resource allocation decisions within political, economic, and social systems and institutions; it may be motivated from moral, ethical or faith principles or simply to protect an...
  
   (IMHAs) for 'qualifying patients'.
• Electroconvulsive Therapy
  Electroconvulsive therapy
  Electroconvulsive therapy , formerly known as electroshock, is a psychiatric treatment in which seizures are electrically induced in anesthetized patients for therapeutic effect. Its mode of action is unknown...
  
   may not be given to a patient who has capacity to refuse consent to it, and may only be given to an incapacitated patient where it does not conflict with any advance directive, decision of a donee or deputy or decision of the Court of Protection.

Controversy

During the Act's development, there were concerns expressed that the changes proposed by the Mental Health Bill were draconian. As a result, the government was forced in 2006 to abandon their original plans to introduce the Bill outright and had to amend the 1983 Act instead. Despite this concession, the Bill was still defeated a number of times in the House of Lords

House of Lords

The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....

prior to its receiving Royal Assent.

External links

• Mental Health Act 2007: Overview Article on the Act from WikiMentalHealth
• CSIP Implementating the amended Mental Health Act from NIMHE
• Mental Health Act 1983 from WikiMentalHealth Shows how the 2007 Act has updated the 1983 Act.
• Institute of Mental Health Act Practitioners

UK Legislation

• Explanatory notes to the Mental Health Act 2007.