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Mental Health Law Online
The internet resource on mental health law, and mental capacity law, for England & Wales. You can sign up for free email updates, the online forum and the CPD scheme (which provides 12 hours for £60 and is suitable for lawyers and non-lawyers). The abbreviations are similar but MHLO, MHLA and MHLR are all different.
The main content of this website has been divided into Case law (2345), Legislation (378) and Resources (1,031), together with separate Information pages (328) to link everything together.
Forum topics
Contacts
The Magic Book is a database of contact details which currently contains 302 pages.
News and updates
All the latest updates to the website can be seen on on the MHLO updates forum category. The five most recent appear here.
- 13/05/24: Mental capacity law newsletter. 39 Essex Chambers, 'Mental Capacity Report' (issue 140, May 2024) — "Highlights this month include: (1) In the Health, Welfare and Deprivation of Liberty Report: a rare successful capacity appeal, evicting someone from P's house and holistically approaching hoarding; (2) In the Practice and Procedure Report: when you can remove deputies, and publishing judgments in serious medical treatment and closed material procedure cases; (3) In the Mental Health Matters Report: when not to rely on capacity in the mental health context; (4) In the Wider Context Report: capacity, autonomy and the limits of the obligation to secure life, and the European Court of Human Right raises the stakes for psychiatric admission for those with learning disabilities; (5) In the Scotland Report: licence conditions and deprivation of liberty, and Executor qua attorney - a few steps back?"
- 09/04/24: Case (DOLS ineligibility under Case E). Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust v JS [2023] EWCOP 33 — The key questions when considering ineligiblity under Case E are: (1) Is the person a 'mental health patient'? (2) Is the person an 'objecting' mental health patient? (3) Could the person be detained under s2 or 3 MHA 1983? The judge had been entitled to reach the conclusions he did on the evidence he had.
- 09/04/24: Victims and the MHT. Ministry of Justice, 'Tough new measures to bolster landmark victims' law' (press release, 9/4/24) — The government has proposed amendments to the Victims and Prisoners Bill 2022 which would mean that victims could make a Victim Impact Statement during the Mental Health Tribunal process. There would also be a duty placed on police and criminal justice agencies to deliver services in relation to the exiting duty to inform victims of their rights, and this duty would be overseen by the Victims' Commissioner.
- 08/04/24: Law Society MHT practice note. Law Society, 'Practice note: Representation before mental health tribunals' (24/2/24) — Unhelpfully, this practice note gives no indication of what changes have been made since the August 2022 version.
- 08/04/24: Remote hearings. HMCTS, 'Safety and security in hospitals and trusts' (letter to MHLA, 4/4/24) — This letter states that from 8/4/24, for "health and safety" reasons, all hearings at venues that have not confirmed compliance with the minimum safety and security requirements will be held by video link. Of over 820 venues contacted (in February 2024), 150 stated that they cannot comply, and others have not yet replied. Representations can be made if there is "a particular medical or other reason that the patient cannot have a VH hearing" and directions might include "reasonable adjustments or a transfer to a suitable hospital".
Consultations
No open consultations.
To do
Things that will end up with their own MHLO pages, when I have time...
- 13/05/24: HC, Re [2024] EWCOP 24B (25 April 2024). "I will therefore authorise HC's deprivation of liberty at D House in the event she has agreed to move there, but that authorisation will end if HC changes her mind about staying there and says that she wishes to return to the family home."
- 13/05/24: J (Blood Transfusion: Older Child: Jehovah's Witnesses), Re [2024] EWHC 1034 (Fam)B (15 April 2024)
- 13/05/24: McLaughlin (Opinion No. 2) v Morrison & Anor [2013] ScotCS CSOH_168 (25 October 2013) [2013] CSOH 168Not on Bailii! https://www.bailii.org/scot/cases/ScotCS/2013/2013CSOH168.html
- 13/05/24: Neglect led to man’s death at mental health unit (Ablett mental health unit at Glan Clwyd Hospital in Bodelwyddan, Denbighshire - Betsi Cadwaladr health board) https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ceq3jgpxw69o
- 13/05/24: O v P & Anor [2024] EWHC 1077 (Fam)B (08 May 2024) "In the days and weeks before this hearing there have been several developments. The first private clinic in the UK for those seeking gender-related treatment, known as Gender Plus and Gender Plus Endocrinology services, gained CQC registration (which is required for the hormone clinic) in January 2024. Secondly, Q reached his 16th birthday. Thirdly the final Cass Review was published."
- 04/04/24: Law Society, 'Practice note: Representation before mental health tribunals' (24/2/24) - create tracked changes version
- 22/03/24: A, Re (Covert Medication: Residence) [2024] EWCOP 19B (20 March 2024)
- 22/03/24: Civil Justice Council Procedure for Determining Mental Capacity in Civil Proceedings Working Group Consultation Paper - December 2023 to 17/3/24 https://www.judiciary.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/CJC-Capacity-Consultation.pdf
- 22/03/24: Council of Europe - High-Level Conference "Of Unsound Mind" - 27/3/24 https://www.coe.int/en/web/execution/conference
- 22/03/24: CQC, 'Monitoring the MHA' (21/3/24) https://www.cqc.org.uk/publications/monitoring-mental-health-act
Email updates
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CPD
The CPD scheme is primarily aimed at mental health solicitors, and is an ideal way to evidence your continued competence, but is also suitable for barristers, psychiatrists, social workers and psychiatric nurses. For £60, you can obtain 12 CPD credits.
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