- Recognition of the need for resources.
- Advocating an ambitious programme of change to bring services into the 21st century.
- Increasing patient choice and autonomy.
- Using the least restriction possible.
- Changing the ethos of service delivery.
An independent review of the Mental Health Act 1983 (MHA 1983) was commissioned in October 2017 and undertaken by Professor Sir Simon Wessely, a past president of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, and his team. The final report is entitled Modernising the Mental Health Act increasing choice, reducing compulsion and was published in December 2018. This government consultation document is the long-awaited response, Reforming the Mental Health Act, published in January 2021. In Pt 3 the White Paper responds to each of the 154 recommendations in the Wessely review separately. It is important to note at the outset that the proposals require substantial future financial resources and, in the present circumstances of the continuing financial cost
