A marker in the sand for acute mental health care
The long-awaited modernisation to the Mental Health Act 1983 is an important step towards better patient care and improved support for marginalised groups.
The Mental Health Act
The Mental Health Act 1983 is law in England and Wales. It provides a legal framework to authorise the detention of people with mental health difficulties, and tells people with mental health problems what their rights are around assessment and treatment. Read more on the NHS website.
A review of the Act was set up in 2017. This found rising rates of detention, racial disparities and poor patient experience, especially for autistic people and those with learning disabilities. Figures show that in the year up March 2023, Black people were 3.5 times as likely as white people to be detained under the Mental Health Act.
We’ve called for the Mental Health Act to be modernised in partnership with others, including the Children and Young People’s Mental Health Coalition, and welcome the delivery of an updated Bill by the Government on 6 November 2024.
Professor Eamon McCrory, Anna Freud CEO, said:
“The publication of the Mental Health Bill in Parliament marks an important turning point for acute mental health care. It points towards a new era of improved patient dignity, voice and equity of treatment.
“Most importantly, the new Bill also provides greater protections for those who need it most, including disproportionately affected Black and mixed ethnic groups, autistic people and people with learning disabilities. We know from our work on the National Autism Trainer Programme (NATP) that autistic people have long suffered from less informed decisions about their care, and worse outcomes. The new Bill will begin to tackle this while also better supporting those with complex emotional needs, often associated with a diagnosis of 'personality disorder’.
"These reforms will need comprehensive, sustainable investment plans and a strengthened workforce if we’re to realise the true benefits. The government must also recognise that improved acute care is only part of the solution if we’re to build the wellbeing of the next generation. That’s why we also call for a renewed focus on prevention and early intervention strategies in our Thinking differently manifesto.
“However, this bill is a step in the right direction. Anna Freud Young Champion Naz told us that ‘young people’s mental health is continually changing - policy and practice need to keep up’. It seems that with these proposed reforms, the Government is in agreement.”
Follow updates on the Mental Health Bill on parliament.uk.
About us
We're a mental health charity and we’ve been supporting children and young people for over 70 years. We released our own manifesto, Thinking differently, in April 2024, which called for a greater focus on prevention, early intervention and meaningful youth voice to close the gap in children and young people’s mental health.