ABSTRACT
Introduction We are at a moment of radical change in mental health law and policy direction throughout Europe, a pattern that is demonstrated clearly in the United Kingdom (UK). Having closed many large psychiatric hospitals, the two-fold task still remains a priority on the health agenda – that of caring for individuals with mental health problems while protecting the public from undue risk. Though the UK consists of three different legal systems – England and Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland – all legal changes are guided by a single ideology, that of the current government at Westminster. The purpose of this chapter is to focus on the current mental health, policy trends, taking into account the political, legal, professional and social contexts that impinge on them. Different Agendas Current UK mental health policies reflect government priorities in relation to public policy on health and on crime, influenced by lobbies from the mental health sector and by other external forces, the most important of which are summarised below. The Political Agenda Mental health policy has to be viewed within the context of general social policy as it has emerged under the Labour Government, led by Prime Minister Tony Blair, which replaced the Conservative Government in 1997. Its policies have been characterised by a commitment to the philosophy of the National Health Service (NHS) – the public provision of a health care system, free at the point of delivery and funded from general taxation. Within the framework, Blair promised to modernise mental health services, in terms of both service delivery and legislation. Two policy documents are worth mentioning: ‘Modernising Mental Health Services’ (DH, 1998), and ‘Reforming the Mental Health Act’ (DH, 1999).
