Mental Health Bill ~ urgent amendment
A recent High Court judgment Sammut & Others v Next Steps Mental Healthcare Ltd & The Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust [2024] EWHC 2265 (KB) has identified a serious gap in the law that needs plugging. The decision concerns persons who are subject to section 117 of the Mental Health Act 1983 and are living in private residential or nursing facilities. Such persons will have previously been detained for treatment under the Mental Health Act 1983. The decision of the High Court is that the residential or nursing facilities in which they live are not bound by the provisions of the Human Rights Act 1998.
This was not intended. An amendment in 2008 was thought to have addressed this problem for all residents in care homes funded by the state, but this judgment makes clear that this is not the case for section 117 residents living in privately owned residential / nursing facilities.
The most straight forward way of remedying this problem is for the Mental Health Bill to be amended. The Bill is currently working its way through the Westminster Parliament and a suitable amendment to this could address the problem for persons subject to section 117 in England and Wales.
Dr Lucy Series has taken the lead on drafting a more detailed note on this issue, which can be accessed by clicking here.
Please consider contacting any MPs and Peers with whom you have contact to highlight this issue and seek their support in making the necessary amendment to the Bill.
Posted 23 November 2024