Where coercion meets care: Keith Wilding discusses the benefits of tribunal hearings in the mental health context
- The nature of disability & the role of coercion.
- The ‘subtle’ role of the mental health tribunals.
In May 2017 the Prime Minister made a speech in which she referred to a ‘flawed’ Mental Health Act 1983 which often results in detention, disproportionate effects, and forced treatment of vulnerable people. This appears to seriously underestimate the complexities involved in the operation of the Act, of the concept of disability, of the use of coercive care in the mental health field, and of the role of the law in these circumstances.
The case of Mr A
The case of Mr A illustrates the point. He is 25 years old, did well at school and went to university where his mental health deteriorated. He was unable to continue his studies and returned home to his family. Over a two-year period he worsened to the extent that he was not eating, was unable to manage his self-care, and he was distressed, thought disordered
