Mental Health Alliance pushes Government for Care Before
Compulsion with launch of new Charter
The Mental Health Alliance will
today launch a Charter for Consensual Treatment in a bid to
step up pressure on the Government to keep mental health high on the
political agenda.
The Charter, which sets out what the Alliance believes is necessary to
reverse the rising trend in the use of compulsion, will be launched at a
meeting in the House of Commons this morning.
The Mental Health Alliance agrees with the part of the Government’s
White Paper that states a new Mental Health Act should "reduce
wherever possible, the number of individuals who are subject to the use of
powers for compulsory care and treatment."
Despite the omission of a Mental Health Bill in the Queen’s Speech,
the Alliance is determined to push for a new Act which meets the needs of
people with mental health problems, carers and professionals
at the earliest opportunity.
Campaigners will be calling on MPs, users of mental health services,
professionals and members of the public to sign up to the Charter in their
numbers, to show Government the strength of support in favour of a more
inclusive Mental Health Act.
The Alliance is also publishing a new report
,
Care Before Compulsion. This details the rise in the use of
compulsory treatment in recent years and spells out why a new Mental
Health Act should work to reduce coercion for the majority of people with
mental health problems and how it could be achieved.
Speaking today
,
Alliance Chair Paul Farmer said: "We hope that the Charter for
Consensual Care will illustrate the overwhelming support for a new
and inclusive Mental Health Act. People with mental health problems
deserve legislation that adequately and fairly meets their needs.
"We intend to keep up the pressure on the Government to ensure
that mental health remains one of the Government
