Mental Health Law changes

[AB Asks]

Controversial plans to lock up some mentally ill people may be defeated by the House of Lords. The Mental Health Bill would mean people with severe personality disorders could be locked up if a judge ruled them to be threat to the public. It could also mean that people who have not committed a crime but are just mentally ill could also be banged up. The health minister Lord Warner said the aim of bill would be to protect the public from the mentally ill. What do you think about this possible new law? Is it ok to enforce detention on someone who is mentally ill but has not committed a crime? Or could this be a way to increase public protection from potentially dangerous mentally ill people?

[netibiza]

Most of us on the answerbank will be gone then - locked up - key thrown away.

[yesmadam]

What's the difference to those being sectioned?

http://www.thesite.org/healthandwellbeing/ment alhealth/treatments/beingsectioned

Locked up where? and is that indefinately? or until a lawyer gets that person out and off they go and stab someone to death? as in the Richmond Park incident?

So this news? why has it come now? what's happened?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/6374547 .stm

This is a case in point of a patient with severe AUTISM locked up.

http://webjcli.ncl.ac.uk/1998/issue4/rodgers4. html#Heading7

I'm sorry that I have posted up so many links to read but it's a HUGE argument and they, the politicians, never get it right!!!

[lector]

the public ned to be protected

the mentally ill need to be protected

the doctors need to be better trained and skilled - clinical jugements should prevail

the politicians should 'keep out of it' - and stop looking for easy headlines -

social workers should 'butt out'

inside / half-way / outside shouldall be solutions

research into the increase numbers defined with some form of 'mental illness' - causes need to be indentified - remedies found - best ways to care identified

society needs to rethink its attitude

[Coldicote]

Mental Health should not be thought of in terms of being 'banged up'. Hospital are needed providing treatment and security according to need and public safety.

[samuel23]

Oh that's just great ~ just what we need. A return to the Victorian values of 'segregating the loonies'. Welcome back to bedlam.
'kin Idiots!! What we need is better care and secure hospitals where these people will get help and treatment (if there is any) for their conditions.
What would we do with people with broken bones if the government passed a law saying they were a threat to public safety coz they have lumps of plaster on them that could hurt someone? Lock 'em all up? Or are we now going to say that because someones brain isn't working properly (which, in reality please remember, means that they are ill) we now need to treat them like criminals?