Rumours of the death of the “treatability test” have been greatly exaggerated, says David Hewitt
Thanks to a last-minute amendment, the Mental Health Act 2007 (MeHA 2007) will be less radical than many people had feared—at least in the way it deals with medical treatment.
In July 2007, MeHA 2007 received Royal Assent. It will amend the Mental Health Act 1983 (MeHA 1983), probably with effect from late 2008. As expected, it removes the previous “treatability test”, but, perhaps surprisingly, it does not do so entirely.
THE TREATABILITY TEST
At the moment, MeHA 1983 may be used to detain and give compulsory medical treatment to someone suffering from “mental disorder”. MeHA 1983 recognises four categories of mental disorder: mental illness, mental impairment, severe mental impairment and psychopathic disorder (ss 1 and 3); and its definition of “medical treatment” includes “nursing…care, habilitation and rehabilitation under medical supervision” (s 145(1)).
If someone is to be detained for anything other than the short-term, the medical treatment he is to receive in hospital must be “likely to alleviate or prevent a deterioration of his condition” (s 3(2)(b)). This requirement is
