It is known that a much wider range of factors affect a person`s mental health, such as housing, physical health, isolation. The report offers a more comprehensive view of the impact of psychiatric care and treatment, taking into account the overall picture of a person`s life and the impact on all their human rights. The work of the Review takes up the role of the Rome Review on the situation of persons with learning disabilities and autism in mental health legislation. Both reviews contain a clear and thorough analysis of human rights standards, based on the perspectives of people with lived experience. The resulting recommendations have great potential to improve the daily lives of Scots. When the law refers to a person with a „mental disorder,” it means a person who has a mental illness, personality disorder or learning disability. This may include people with dementia, depression or autism. That is the definition currently used in the act, which is why we are using it. It is widely recognised that people with lived experience of mental illness in Scotland do not enjoy their human rights as fully as they could and that there are barriers for unpaid carers to support people with mental illness.
The Alliance therefore welcomes the proposals contained in the final report aimed at ensuring the respect, protection and fulfilment of human rights. Instead, people should be supported in performing well, even in crisis situations. This has seriously challenged our current criteria for declaring a person incapable of making decisions, whether in health care or any other area of their life. The issues are not only legal, but also ethical, practical and deeply personal and therefore difficult. The review addressed these challenges head-on. Their recommendations suggest ways to reshape the law so that interventions in a person`s life are primarily based on understanding and emphasizing a person`s own desires. John Scott QC is leading the review and would like to know more about your experience with mental health law in Scotland. Their perspectives will help John and his team learn more about how the law currently works and what can be done to improve it.
„The key issue for us is that the review is practical and brings clear improvements for the people of Scotland. These recommendations follow years of sometimes controversial discussion and debate about what these laws should look like and their purpose. The report proposes a fundamental shift from laws that primarily aim to regulate restrictions on people`s human rights to laws that seek to respect human rights. This is an extremely welcome step in the campaign to end the scandal of autistic people unjustly imprisoned and trapped in psychiatric hospitals. Decisions about detention and coercive treatment should not be made on the basis of autism and, in this regard, the review is unclear. We are not convinced that these proposals will prevent autistic people from ending up inappropriately in psychiatric hospitals. Some recommendations will depend on increased resources and an increase in the number of psychiatrists. Coordination within government will be needed to address certain areas that span different ministries. It won`t be easy, but it fits with the emerging picture of human rights for all in Scotland, which should be clarified in the Scottish Government`s next Human Rights Act. If the proposals come into force, Scotland will not only be much closer to international human rights standards, but it will also have the potential to provide a much better experience for people with mental illness. „We see this review as an opportunity for the legislation to ensure greater visibility and support for people with mental illness who are involved in the management, development and review of services.
The Scottish Mental Health Law Review has published its final report (this link takes you away from our website) which contains a wide range of recommendations to promote the human rights of people with mental illness and unpaid carers in Scotland. „Our current legislation on mental health and disability is 20 years old. Over these two decades, we have seen tremendous changes in attitudes and awareness about mental illness. Care and treatment have also changed, as more people are treated at home in the community than in hospital. Pressure on services is increasing and people are struggling to access treatment. Adrian Ward, Chair of the Law Society of Scotland`s Sub-Committee on Mental Health and Disability, said: „This report represents a monumental achievement by the review team and a remarkable and insightful contribution from our members, as well as other organisations and individuals with expertise and experience in these broad areas of law and practice. Like everyone involved, we must now carefully consider the detailed report and recommendations. The review of mental health legislation is led by John Scott QC and aims to improve the rights and protection of people with mental disorders. The Review Group will assist the Chair in making decisions on the conduct of the review, including ensuring it is open and transparent, and make recommendations that will help shape the future direction of the mental health legal framework in Scotland. „We also believe that there is also a way to reduce stigma by requiring public institutions established by mental health laws, including the Mental Health Commission, to include the voices of people with experience in using services and the voices of caregivers at all levels of their work. This can have a wider impact on society as a whole. The benefits of diversity and inclusion have yet to materialize.
The review is an opportunity to do that. The report is the result of a comprehensive three-stage review that collected lessons learned from the Mental Health Act, examined ways to address the issues and sought input from a wide range of experts and stakeholders across Scotland on recommendations to change the law and practice in mental health areas. Incompetence of adults, as well as support and protection of adults. „The review made it clear that reform should focus on human rights and set out some welcome principles that future mental health laws should follow, such as dignity, inclusion, equality and autonomy. On Friday 30 September, the Scottish Mental Health Law Review, chaired by John Scott QC, published the results of its 3-year examination. The main objective of the review was to examine the rights and protections under existing legislation and to propose recommendations for amendments. The final report of the Scottish Mental Health Law Review is the result of more than three years of work on the first major review of the Mental Health and Capacity Act in Scotland in over 20 years. It includes direct quotes from many voices of lived experience (including unpaid caregivers), as well as relevant practitioners and groups and organizations. The contributions helped us develop a new positive vision of our Mental Health Act with three key aspects: The Commission has advocated for many years to reform the Mental Health and Capacity Act with a view to enacting support and support legislation that focuses on creating access to human rights, rather than on their restricted. In this area and in all policy areas, we have ensured that the review of the law is rights-based. This requires the involvement of people with mental illness and, above all, an explicit examination of what international human rights standards say and what they mean in practice in Scotland. The review shall analyse all the information made available to it, including the responses to this consultation.
On this basis, it will prepare a progress report setting out priorities and a general timetable for the next phase of the review. You can keep up to date with exam progress via our website or follow us on Twitter at @MHLRScot. Instead, the review recommends a new target for the Mental Health and Capacity Act, which is to „ensure that all human rights of people with intellectual and intellectual disabilities (and otherwise covered by the Incapable Adults (Scotland) Act) are respected, protected and fulfilled.” This means that we are still wondering how the Mental Health Act promotes and protects human rights and whether it could do so in a better way. The objective of the review is to improve the rights and protection of individuals affected by laws on support and protection of mental illness, disability, or adult support and protection because they have or have had a mental disorder. This includes caregivers or supporters of those affected by these laws. The review of mental health laws, policies and practices through lived experience and a human rights perspective is in line with the broader focus on rights in Scotland, including work to incorporate human rights law in Scotland and to further develop the Second National Human Rights Action Plan. „We support the aim of the Scottish Mental Health Act Review Team to improve people`s rights and protections and remove barriers for those who care about their health and wellbeing. A review of the functioning of the Mental Health Act in Scotland is ongoing. This review was initiated by the Scottish Government, but is independent of it. Autism is not a mental health problem and psychiatric hospitals are not the right place for the vast majority of autistic people.