Legal News

Figures from the Care Quality Commission (CQC) show that mental health patients under the age of 16 are being refused access to acute care units.

The data shows that instead of being taken to NHS places of safety, teenagers are being held in police custody. The CQC has expressed concern at the lack of NHS mental health facilities for children and teenagers.

There are 161 such facilities available in England and the CQC found that 56 would not admit children aged below 16 years ? and half would not admit teenagers aged 17. As a result, children are being held in police cells rather than receiving the specialist mental health care they need.

The CQC says that mental health patients who suffer a crisis in public and are detained under the Mental Health Act 1983 should be given a specialist assessment in a mental health unit, rather than being held in a police cell.

A shortage of dedicated mental health units has meant that in the past mental health patients have been taken to the nearest police station. The CQC says that in the event of a specialist mental health unit being unavailable, patients should be taken to the nearest general hospital for psychiatric assessment.

Mental health services across England are currently being trimmed back as a result of budget cuts, however.

Care Minister Norman Lamb ? MP for North Norfolk ? has called the CQC findings “unacceptable“.

However, Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust is currently aiming to cut 20% of its mental health budget. Research by local publisher the Eastern Daily Press in November 2013 revealed that the trust had spent millions of pounds on sending mental health patients requiring acute care or special placements outside the area, including to units as far away as north London.

The CQC research has found that across England, many units will not accept mental health patients under 16, including acute care units in Birmingham, Liverpool and Sheffield. The CQC’s chief inspector of hospitals, Dr Paul Lelliott, said that younger mental health patients should not “routinely” be taken to police stations when detained under the Mental Health Act.

Some police forces in England are currently piloting a scheme under which NHS nurses are stationed at police stations to help care for mental health patients taken into custody.

A Home Office consultation on the treatment of mental health patients by the police is also underway and the Home Secretary Theresa May has ordered an investigation into the treatment of vulnerable patients in police custody.

Several high profile cases involving mental health patients who came to harm in police custody have prompted concern over how mental health patients are cared for at police stations and how mental health detainees react when held in a police cell.

Duncan Lewis Mental Health Solicitors

Duncan Lewis is a leading firm of specialist mental health solicitors and can advise mental health patients on their rights under the Mental Health Act 1983.

In some cases, Duncan Lewis mental health solicitors may also be able to advise the next of kin or carer of a mental health patient, including initiating treatment reviews where appropriate.

For expert advice on mental health law contact the Duncan Lewis Mental Health Solicitors Helpline on 0203 114 1124.