HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS British Journal of Psychiatry Psychiatric Bulletin All RCPsych Journals		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Submit an eLetter Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Related articles in APT Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Lyons, D. Search for Related Content PubMed Articles by Lyons, D.

New mental health legislation in Scotland

Donald Lyons has been Director of the Mental Welfare Commission for Scotland since 2003 (Mental Welfare Commission for Scotland, K Floor, Argyle House, 3 Lady Lawson Street, Edinburgh EH3 9SH, UK. Email: donald.lyons{at}mwcscot.org.uk). Previously, he was Consultant and Clinical Director in Old Age Psychiatry in Glasgow. He trained in the Glasgow and Trent Region and his special interests, apart from mental health and incapacity law, include services for people in nursing homes and electroconvulsive therapy.

The Mental Health (Care and Treatment) (Scotland) Act 2003 was implemented in October 2005. This article summarises the main features of the Act and its differences from previous legislation. The Act was intended to provide a more flexible range of interventions, including compulsory treatment in the community. It also introduced a number of new safeguards. These are described and early data on their impact are presented. Some provisions of the Act are time-consuming and cumbersome, but there is evidence that psychiatrists are committed to its principles and this is borne out by early monitoring data. Some aspects of the Act are being reviewed at the time of writing.

Related articles in APT:

Changing mental health legislation in the UK

Tony Zigmond
APT 2008 14: 81-83. [Abstract] [Full Text]  

This article has been cited by other articles:

				T. Zigmond Changing mental health legislation in the UK Advan. Psychiatr. Treat., March 1, 2008; 14(2): 81 - 83. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]