RETHINK: Mental health services "breaching human rights"

Tuesday, 26 October 2010 12:00 AM

"The CQC's findings suggest that in some cases treatments are being given without consent, community treatment orders imposed too readily and people's liberty on wards severely restricted.

These trends are a worrying sign that health professionals are sometimes opting for the easier option instead of prioritising patients' best interests. This could be breaking the law and breaching the human rights of people with mental illness. It is almost certainly causing distress and hampering recovery.

"Involving patients in decisions about their care and treatment is crucial to their progress, but we know that people with severe mental illness often do not enjoy the same choice and control as patients with other illnesses. The CQC must use its powers to ensure that the Mental Health Act and community treatment orders are used to safeguard patients and give them the best chance of recovery, not to impose undue restrictions."

The CQC report found that nearly a third of patients subject to community treatment orders (CTOs) did not have a history of failing to comply with mental health services. The report says that this "may indicate that CTOs are being applied as a preventive measure for a substantial minority of CTO patients" and that "this raises concerns over the potentially very broad use of the coercive powers of CTO".

Alun, a Rethink supporter who is affected by bipolar disorder, told us that while CTOs may work for some people, he has reservations.

"I was on a CTO for six months earlier this year. Perhaps it encouraged me to turn up for my medication injections, but I probably would have done so anyway. I didn't really see the point of being on a CTO as the threat of being recalled to hospital didn't really bother me."

For more information call 020 7840 3138.

Katie Leason
PR Manager
Rethink

Tel: 020 7840 3138

Working together to help everyone affected by severe mental illness recover a better quality of life.

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