Draconian amendments to Scottish Mental Health Act (2003)

The Scottish Parliament is seeking to make draconian amendments to its proposed changes to the Scottish Mental Health Act (2003), allowing medical and legal professions tyrannical powers to detain individuals... The new proposals have very serious implications for the freedom of Scottish people, the changes would make it even easier for individuals to be detained in hospital and gives far too much power to psychiatrists who can, and do, subject their patients to unnecessary treatment.

Details of submissons and Petition:
http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/GettingInvolved/Petitions/mentalhealthlegislation

The consultation on the new Mental Health bill referred to contains proposals from the Scottish Government that appear aimed at drastically weakening the patient’s right of appeal.

In Paragraph II they suggest

1) removing the right of the Named Person to be involved in Tribunals (that will be up to the Trubunals), and also

2) removing the right of the Named Person to see papers relating to the evidence even at the patient’s behest. And

3) in Paragraph 13 they express a wish to allow MHO’s to indicate to Tribunals who the Named Person should be.
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Resource/0044/00441187.pdf

These three proposals would appear to effectively permit the complete removal (at the discretion of the Sectioners) of the right of appeal from any patient who is unable to coherently and vigorously specify and insist on their own rights. As most are forced to take drugs before their first Tribunal, this could be the vast majority of patients.

The MHO can suggest a ‘Named Person’ to the Tribunal who they think is agreeable to the section, and the Tribunal can agree that the MHO is ‘best placed’ to judge. Should a Named Person be appointed that the MHO or the Tribunals believe might actually fight for the patients’ rights, they will no longer have to cook up a story about them being unsuitable, as the Named Person will apparently require permission to represent the patient at Tribunals. And if all else fails, they Named Person can be rendered unable to help the patient refute the evidence, by denying them permission to see the evidence even at the patient’s behest...

If all else fails, strong appeal cases (or those where there have been blatant breaches of the legislation or the guidelines) can simply be ‘vetoed’ by denying permission.

The proposals seems to be aimed at making the denial of the patient’s human rights appear to be legitimate.

Original article at Namaste Publishing http://namastepublishing.co.uk/tyranical-powers-sought-by-scottish-government-to-change-mental-health-act/