Mental Health Law, 5th Edition

Introduction: The story so far

1. Informality and Intervention: The Basics

• Out of mind and out of sight

• Informal admission to hospital
• Common law necessity and the Bournewood gap
• The deprivation of liberty safeguards (DoLS)
• In-patients’ detention under section 5 of the Mental Health Act
• An outline of the other Mental Health Act powers
• An outline of the Mental Capacity Act powers
• Hospitals, homes and managers
• The Codes of Practice

2. Mental Disorder, Mental Capacity and the Grounds for Intervention

• Psychiatry is a problem
• Classifying the mental disorders
• “Mental disorder” after the 2007 Act
• The exclusions from “mental disorder” in the Mental Health Act
• The additional criteria for compulsion under the Mental Health Act
• The concepts in the Mental Health Act
• Commentary
  
  3. Professionals and Families
• Patients and paupers
• Approved mental health professionals
• The patient’s family
• Child patients, their families and local authorities
• Doctors and approved clinicians under the Mental Health Act
• Conflicts of interest under the Mental Health Act
• Mental Capacity Act assessors
• Commentary
  
  4. The Machinery for Detaining People
• What is left of the common law?
• Gaining access
• Admission for assessment under the Mental Health Act
• Admission for treatment under the Mental Health Act
• Scrutiny and rectification of Mental Health Act documents
• Deprivation of liberty under the Mental Health Act
• The National Assistance Act procedures
• Commentary
  
  5. Mentally Disordered Offenders
• Police and prosecution
• Procedure before trial
• Mental disorder as a defence
• Sentencing
• Commentary
  
  6. Treatment and Care
• Treatment outside the Mental Health Act
• Treatment under the Mental Health Act
• Management and control
• Patients’ rights to information and contact
• Advocacy
• Research
• The Care Quality Commission
  
  7. Moving Out and Moving On
• Planning and after-care
• Leave of absence
• Community treatment orders
• Transfers between hospitals and into guardianship
• Discharge
• Absconders and escapers
• Subsequent court orders
• Commentary
  
  8. Tribunals and Courts
• The Tribunal
• The Court of Protection
• The Family Division of the High Court
• The Administrative Court
• Commentary
  
  9. Community Care
• Community care services
• Assessment and entitlement
• Children’s services
• Protection from abuse and exploitation
• Mental Health Community powers
• The Mental Capacity Act in the community
• Commentary
  
  10. Legal Capacity and Legal Rights
• Rights of citizenship
• Family life
• Wills and other gifts
• Contracts with suppliers, employers and others
• Proxy decision-makers
• The Court of Protection
• Criminal and civil proceedings
• Commentary