The Mental Health Act Commission was an

NHS special health authority A special health authority is a type of NHS body which provide services on behalf of the National Health Service in England. Unlike other types of trust, they operate nationally rather than serve a specific geographical area. They are a type of " ...

that provided a safeguard for people detained in hospital under the powers of the

Mental Health Act 1983 The Mental Health Act 1983 (c.20) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It covers the reception, care and treatment of mentally disordered people, the management of their property and other related matters, forming part of the ment ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

and

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

Mental health Mental health encompasses emotional, psychological, and social well-being, influencing cognition, perception, and behavior. It likewise determines how an individual handles stress, interpersonal relationships, and decision-making. Mental health ...

care is the only part of

health care Health care or healthcare is the improvement of health via the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in people. Health care is delivered by health profe ...

where

patient A patient is any recipient of health care services that are performed by healthcare professionals. The patient is most often ill or injured and in need of treatment by a physician, nurse, optometrist, dentist, veterinarian, or other health c ...

s can be treated under compulsion, and necessarily there are very clear legal requirements on hospitals and the other services involved - primarily

local authority Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of public administration within a particular sovereign state. This particular usage of the word government refers specifically to a level of administration that is both geographically-loca ...

social services Social services are a range of public services intended to provide support and assistance towards particular groups, which commonly include the disadvantaged. They may be provided by individuals, private and independent organisations, or administe ...

. The Commission was abolished on 31 March 2009.

History

The Commission was established under the

and consisted of some 100 members (Commissioners), including laypersons, lawyers, doctors, nurses, social workers, psychologists and other specialists. The

Health and Social Care Act 2008 The Health and Social Care Act 2008 (c 14) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Synopsis The Act was created on 11 March 2009 with the following regulated activities: * provision of health care to patients by a National Health Ser ...

replaced the

Healthcare Commission The Healthcare Commission was a non-departmental public body sponsored by the Department of Health of the United Kingdom. It was set up to promote and drive improvement in the quality of health care and public health in England and Wales. It aimed ...

, the

Commission for Social Care Inspection The Commission for Social Care Inspection was a non-departmental public body and the single, independent inspectorate for social care in England. Its sponsor department was the Department of Health of the United Kingdom government. It incorporat ...

and the Mental Health Act Commission with a single, integrated regulator for health and adult social care - the

Care Quality Commission The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is an executive non-departmental public body of the Department of Health and Social Care of the United Kingdom. It was established in 2009 to regulate and inspect health and social care services in England. I ...

. The Care Quality Commission began operating on 1 April 2009 as a

non-departmental public body In the United Kingdom, non-departmental public body (NDPB) is a classification applied by the Cabinet Office, Treasury, the Scottish Government and the Northern Ireland Executive to public sector organisations that have a role in the process of n ...

Functions

The Commission was a monitoring body rather than an inspectorate or regulator. Its concern was primarily the legality of detention and the protection of individuals' human rights. In addition to a visiting programme, the Commission provided important safeguards to patients who lack capacity or refuse to consent to treatment, through the

Second Opinion Appointed Doctor Service The second (symbol: s) is the unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), historically defined as of a day – this factor derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes and finally to 60 seconds ...

. Its functions were: * to keep under review the operation of the

in respect of patients detained or liable to be detained under that Act * to visit and interview, in private, patients detained under the

Mental Health Act Mental Health Act is a stock short title used for legislation relating to mental health law. List Canada * Mental Health Act (Ontario) (Ontario) India *The Mental Health Care Act, 2017 Ireland *The Mental Health Act 2001 New Zealand *The Men ...

in hospitals and registered nursing homes * to consider the investigation of complaints where these fall within the Commission's remit * to review decisions to withhold the mail of patients detained in the

High Security Hospitals Broadmoor Hospital is a high-security psychiatric hospital in Crowthorne, Berkshire, England. It is the oldest of the three high-security psychiatric hospitals in England, the other two being Ashworth Hospital near Liverpool and Rampton Secur ...

* to appoint registered medical practitioners and others to give second opinions in cases where this is required by the

* to publish and lay before

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

a report every 2 years * to monitor the implementation of the Code of Practicehttps://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm199899/cmselect/cmhealth/281/9041509.htm and propose amendments to Ministers In addition, the Commission was encouraged by the Secretary of State to advise on policy matters that fall within the Commission's remit.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Official websiteCare Quality Commission
Defunct public bodies of the United Kingdom Defunct National Health Service organisations Government agencies established in 1983 2009 disestablishments in the United Kingdom Mental health legal history of the United Kingdom