10.11.11
Rise in patients under Mental Health Act
The number of people subject to the Mental Health Act is rising in England, according to a report by the NHS Information Centre. Since March 2010, the number of people subject to the act has risen by 5% to 20,038 this year.
The report suggests that this could be due to a larger number of people being supervised under Community Treatment Orders (CTOs), a rise of almost 30% since last year. However, the number of formal admissions to hospital fell slightly.
NHS Information Centre chief executive Tim Straughan said: “Today’s report suggests that community treatment orders have been used on a significant scale since their introduction in 2008, to care for people with mental health issues outside of a hospital environment.
“This information is important in monitoring the use of the Mental Health Act in this country, and I am pleased to say that we hope to further increase the depth of information available on this important subject in future reports. This is due to a change of data source, as proposed following the Secretary of State’s Fundamental Review of Data Returns.
“A consultation on changes to the report is planned to be open for three months from early January 2012 and I would encourage people to take part; helping ensure we can make future reports even more useful and answer the broader and more detailed questions around the use of the Mental Health Act.
Tell us what you think – have your say below, or email us directly at [email protected]