Mental health reforms aim to allow patients more say

New bill will mean those in crisis are not detained in cells

- ARCHIE MITCHELL

Patients sectioned under the Mental Health Act will have more dignity and a say over their care under proposed reforms to what has been described as an “outdated” system.

Among the changes as part of the Mental Health Bill, which will come before parliament today, police cells and prison cells will no longer be used for people experiencing a mental health crisis, with patients instead expected to be looked after within a suitable healthcare facility.

In July’s King’s Speech, Labour vowed to update the Mental Health Act in a bid to shift the balance of power from the system to the patient, with the aim of putting service users at the centre of decisions about their own care.

Writing exclusively for The Independent, health secretary Wes Streeting raised the story of Georgie, who was diagnosed with anorexia nervosa at 16, forced to quit school, and admitted to a mental health ward. “Despite complying with treatment, she was assessed by a clinician and then detained under the Mental Health Act,” he said.

Mr Streeting added: “Her autonomy was removed and she was left feeling defeated and hopeless. This dehumanising treatment is how patients are too often treated, in this country, in 2024, under the Mental Health Act.”