Controversial mental health reforms?

There are new plans by this ******-up Blair government to lock up people with mental health problems,which they say is
is designed to strike a balance between patients' rights and public safety.They argue it's because 50 murders are committed by these people each year ect,ect,bla,bla.
BULLSHIT.My ex has personality disorders and has violent thoughts BUT would NEVER hurt ANYONE.She is one of the people that would fit this bill's catagory.What would happen if she was locked away.Simple answer.She'd get so upset that people even THOUGHT about her that way,she'd kill herself.That's the truth.Pure and simple.
This government seem to be,bit by bit,segregating all of society into slots and pigeonholes,where if you don't fit into their android mold,then you are taken out.
If this bill is passed,it will be devasting to mentally ill people.Don't believe the hype that this will make the public safer.Thats there way of getting our support.Bullshit.
What do others think?

Mind said plans to impose restrictions on people being treated in the community amount to "psychiatric Asbos" that could deter others from seeking help.
"This legislation is dangerous," said Sophie Corlett, Mind's policy director. "People with mental health problems won't get the help they need."

so much for a caring society!!!

i agree totally (but without the swearing) as nurse within the NHS (20 yrs) i have seen one change after another but to no real benefit. more money needs to pump into the NHS and the Government needs to stop hair-brain schemes that doesn't work. this and this alone is the only way the Britain will have NHS of old that everyone gets the care they deserve, regardless off colour, creed, size etc

all this because of 50 murders a year? i think it would be safer to lock up the "sane" people. i do not believe people should be locked up based on their diagnosis, but based on their actions. i worked in a medium security unit for 5 years in a large Canadian mental health hospital, and 25 years in the hospital and community. my experience is that people with mental illness , are less likely to commit crimes. the people that Mr. Blair are probably referring to are people that have been found not guilty by reason of insanity, and they are locked up, until they are deemed safe to return to the community. most of these people were psychopaths, rapists, child molesters, and very few people were schizophrenic. for people that were resistant to treatment, and were very sick, and perhaps had some minor run in with the law, they usually went to court, which may order treatment and probation, but not locked up. i think Mr. Blair is looking for votes at the expense of the mentally ill, which is very unfair. i agree with you.

They cut the services to mentally ill people, and then lock up the mentally ill. shame on them!

They have closed the psychiatric hospitals, forcing the burden of treatment onto the prison service and now want to lock up people who "might" be dangerous?
Normal people are a lot more dangerous that the mentally ill.
10% of "normal" people commit 80% of all crime.
Given that 10% out of our populationof 60 million are mentally ill at any one time and there are only 50 murders a year by them, I would say that it is using a big hammer to crack a very small nut. 6 million people ill and only 50 murders?
Would that the rest of the population was like that!

oh my god, sorry i only just found out about this. they can't be serious, can they?! please tell me it's a wind-up.
so what they're saying is that i'll be put away for no rational reason? oh yeah, that's great that is - stick a paranoiac in prison (!) fat lot of good that will do. i've had paranoia for most of my life, and i can tell you right now, prison is the worst place to put me in.
i would never hurt someone just for the hell of it. sure, i get angry and lash out, but i always apologise to the person who i lashed out at. that's as far as i've ever hurt someone. nothing more than that.
labour is the biggest joke in the history of the world. i thought they were meant to be centre, but they're acting like extreme right-wing. i swear, if i ever come across blair or any of his idiots, i am gonna give him a lesson he's not gonna forget in a long time. f**king idiot

This new Bill is designed to make this government look like people are being protected from all the 'nutters' out there that will kill you in your beds if they are not locked up. What about all the people who go out and get drunk and become violent. They are only subject to the law when they commit an offence even if they have a history of violent behaviour. Most people with mental health problems are a bigger danger to themselves. If this government positively promoted mental health and told the truth, so that those who are ignorant of the facts, through no fault of their own, that would be much more beneficial to all.

The press sensationalise any murders committed by people with mental health problems and the government does nothing to balance it. How may doctors have killed? Do we now have to fear all doctors? We have to have a common sense approach about such things.

People with mental health problems are human beings just like every one else. To separate them from the rest of society and punish them for being ill is only going to serve to further fuel the fear of mental health and make mental health services more like prison services for the innocent.

It was during the Thatcher years that the hospitals for mentally ill people were closed. The Tory government Said these people would be better cared for in community units. The trouble was that the money for these units was promised and not provided, so many people were just set adrift on the streets with nowhere to live. The present government are still doing the same kind of thing by coming up with ideas but not providing the money. I am sure that the only people that would be forcibly detained would be those that were considered dangerous. As it was before the Thatcher years.

omg sounds like we going back to dark ages when women were locked up just for having child out of wedlock...think if more beds were available and people were not so paranoid this includes the mental help professionals ..seen as observer for patient just crying out for help treated as nuisance who later took own life ,makes me so angry ..and yes he said and yes he didn't we all say things we don't mean through frustration and anger and think more people killed on roads ...so totally agree there but for the grace of god go I and all you others ...tolerance isn't always a bad thing good luck

Hm test the logic in this - 50 murders a year possibly indefinite detention in the bin. Not much help for those who seek help - it took two years for a friend of mine to get urgently needed psychiatric help. Not much care in the community for those who need it. Psychiatric hospitals are dangerously understaffed, putting workers at risk. Then there is the prejudice.
Compare this to the much larger number committed by 'sane' people like drunk drivers for example, who might face points on licence. Or others fifteen years max but more likely a lot less. The statistics say bluntly that we are far more at risk from our nearest and dearest.
Nor have I heard anything from this government about increasing the money needed to run mental health services properly.

its easy, if you think your going mad just dont tell anyone. that way you dont get locked up!

i agree this will stop people seeking help,also when a person has mental health problems i had thought that it had now moved on to not labelling a person with problems , who is now going to decide which people fall into what category, on the word of a doctor, everyone with mental health has different problems of a individual nature, and this labelling of people does not work, ie some people fall into more than one particular diagnosis,and everything how you are treated will fall upon one diagnosis that is very often incorrect, and some mental problems take years to get the right diagnosis, but has previously stated mental health was in the improvements regarding not labelling someone with a label, this will take mental health back years, we are presently in more danger from perfectly well people who continually commit crimes,when a person is suffering a mental health problem they are vulnerable,to becoming victims rather than the other way round, what is is this goverment cgoing to acheive nothing but placing further fear and discrimination for both well people and people with problems that are vulnerable needing the correct treatment has human beings, lock up genuine criminals and not the innocent who have a terrible time regarding their illness has it is .i have mental health problems, but not has yet been diagnosed with a personality disorder, if my doctor decided this, it would be devastating to think i would get treated in this manner and have all my rights taken away.

Where are fundamental human rights in amongst all this?

I was too scared to tell someone I was ill in case they locked me up and still too scared to open up completely in case they do...they are doing themselves no favours and Id never squash a gross spider let alone hurt someone!!

It's their way of dealing with pressure from the press and also to be seen doing something about it.

They should have thought of that before they reduced services for the mentally ill. These people are so vulnerable and they do not get the emotional and social support they need and are just given pills and left to their own devices (this is the cheapest way of dealing with them, you see). Yep, swept under the carpet with minimal of expenses until the s*** hits the fan.
Contrary to belief, the majority of mentally ill people are more at danger to themselves than other.

I believe it is a strategy to stop time wasters using up mental health resources. I hope that it increases the admission of drug addiction and alcohol dependency of those using mental health as an excuse for their behaviour whilst under the influence. there are many very unwell people who can not get admitted because some idiots cant admit to their addictions. There will be consequences for those whom really are fragile. As if labling like (personality disorder) wasn't enough. Rehab for addictions. Hospital for the sick!

Hello,

(ANS) I do tend to agree with the essence of the points your trying to make, the problem is that this government has always had some very troubling agendas. Especially very heavy handed in approach & very authoritian in feeling, I am still extremely worried about the whole ID card agenda that was pushed by Blunkett, then charles clark,et al.

**There are two problems when it comes to mental health, No.1 mental health is seen as a cinderalla service bolted onto the NHS & thus receives low levels of government funding. (i.e. the service is creeking at the seems)

No.2 Mental health services DONT make a profit (they usually make a loss) so again are considered as less important as a result. (years of under funding, god help you if you really have need of the service).

**I used to work for Leeds MIND so I know something of what is meant by mental health services & what consitutes mental illness.

The problem you have here is that people who have been through the NHS mental health system & been diagnosed as having a "personality disorder" are NOT seen as suffering from a mental illness (technically speaking from medical point of view). People with personality disorders are frequently NOT given drugs, nor can they be locked up as being a danger to themselves or others unless very obviously so. In other words this government is freaking out concerning people with personality disorder precisely because such people fall through all the nice clean definitions. i.e. NOT mad, NOT bad, NOT mentally ill so how or what can you do with them??

This problem has lots of similarities with what shall we do to control paedophiles, yes! I know its NOT the same but its similar in the sense that there are no easy answers and that its a highly emotive matter with the public.

**You cannot even section such people, why? because unless they are proven to be mentally ill your not going to put someone into a mental health bed which is required by atleast 10-20 other people.

**I dont know what the answer is here, its a very worrying issue I agree.

**You have to ask the question who ever gets in after Tony Blair will they agree & sanction or approve this legislation too?

IR

The thought turns me cold. Someone who is suffering from mental health problems does not have any rights anymore.

Often this condition is only temporary and I am of the opinion that the categories for mental health are in urgent need of reclassification as many people do not have mental health problems as such but are suffering from stress/ post natal depression/ depression and are not a danger to society and often with the right medication can be on the road to recovery in no time.

Do you realise that if you suffer from stress and cry for lengthy periods at a time you are considered to have mental health problems and can be committed without the patent's consent.

It seems to me that because the funding of mental health care in the UK is declining rapidly, the authorities appear to take the view that it easier to commit someone than try to find out the root cause of the problem.

And the care in the community is not much better in some communities. That word 'Mental' is greatly misunderstood and still has a stigma attached. The action by this awful government will only make the situation worse of this I'm sure.

Shades of the dark ages about the whole thing.

No overhaul the whole system please, before things get out of hand.

For once, I agree with the Conservatives who claim this will discourage people seeking help when it is needed. That's important.

But most of all, it's not immoral to have a mental health disorder! We need to offer more help, free and easy to access, and stop making people feel like they're criminals or somehow not quite human because of a disorder.

Is it right to lock up people with contagious diseases that can be cured? Is it right to cure them, perhaps keeping them quarantined just until they are cured? Perhaos we need to think of it through this anology. What we need, or what I think we need, are secure areas available to keep people who might actually, but not prisons; secure hospitals, where they are treated.

And, yes, they love segregation. And scapegoating. That's what this is about- making us so scared we forget the real threats: war, climate change, lack of resources. And to save money.

Blame good old Maggie for the care in the community fiasco.Personally I think that the Gov. could be right for once it is there duty to protect the public.And as for your ex she seams as if she should be locked up. Is that why she is your ex.

as someone who has and still does on occasions suffer from mental health problems,i totally agree with you. i,as i'm sure you have,have heard some terrible stories about people who have been imprisioned wrongly. i think we should all be aware of this situation,as more and more people aer having mental problems.we also need to educate the public more on this too, and talk about it. so many places are being closed down where are we to go?????and get the help and support we need????

the only persom i am violent towards is myself but i also would come in on this legislation

Okay - so UK is now going to get Nazi laws which will enable to Fuzz-fascists to arrest anyone whom they deem to be nuts or not quite awake on the whole.

If people who are 'insane' are put into prison for no other reason than their 'insanity', what and where next? Okay lets arrest anyone wearing a hood - they've just got to be criminals, right?

You have much more to worry about than this small -part of the Mental Health Act.

There are Non-Lethal Weapons on the Streets of virtually ALL Countries of the World, controlled by the Fascist-********-thug-twats that none of us even spoke to at School. Because they were all gits not worth bothering about.

You all think they go away ( ? ) somewhere when you leave School. The **** are still there. Getting their excitement through Non-Lethal Weapon attacks on the Human-body. If you can't see the Bullet, then you can't see the Weapon, then you can't see who is holding the Weapon. The you can't prosecute them under the Written-Law.

Whatever their Unwritten-Laws are ( and the little shits don't dare publish them for debate ) do not forget that they are the people we would not even talk to at school. Let alone do anything they said. Because they have such bad, nasty, sadistic ways, that they are not the example to copy. In any aspect of their lives.

To see a Glossary of the Weapons available, see,

www.thememoryhole

To protest, try,

www.slavery.org.uk

You will be surprised. .

It is all very well reforming Mental Health legislation but as a mental health practitioner it is going to be impossible to enforce. I work on a community mental health team and our services/resources are already very stretched... we are only treating those with a severe psychotic mental illness. I feel the government should look at the services that are currently struggling and invest more resources on both in-patient and community based care. There is also a shortage of in-patient beds throughout the London area.

I don't think it's right to lock up people with mental problems as most will never exhibit any violent tendencies. It is like charging and sentencing a person for a crime they could commit.
It is absolutely ridiculous.
What about the people who go out on a Friday night and decide to beat somebody into unconsciousness just because they don't like the look of their face, they are free to laugh it off after a slap on the wrist.
If you are mentally unwell there is probably more of a chance that you would be detained indefinitely or for a longer period than a sex offender - how is this even fair?
Why are we allowing our government to implement what is an absolute abuse of power, an abuse that will affect our most vulnerable people.
Being mentally ill is not a crime and the government, no matter how they try to dress it up, believes it should be.
That is wrong in so many ways.
The mentally ill are fragile and need support, not judgement!
xxx

I Say "Lock em all up" ... there is a 16 y/o chap that looks like some "Hills have eyes " drop-out.... he shouts / claps / makes very strange "Hooting " noises .... this is not the problem.... the problem is that this freak is looking at my Daughters wile making these sounds ... not to mention his "Hand Action" ..!! ( his fathers house is at the bottom of my garden )

in my view this bloke is a Danger to young girls and should be locked up..

My own view is this "Misfit / freak " should have been gassed at birth, not only to save the NHS 拢拢拢 but also the danger to young people in the area..