Mental Health Act Wales

A GUIDE FOR MENTAL HEALTH SERVICE USERS AND THEIR FAMILIES

The Mental Health (Wales) Measure 2010 is a new law passed by the National Assembly for Wales and, as such, has the same legal status in Wales as other Mental Health Acts. However, whilst the 1983 and 2007 Mental Health Acts are largely about compulsory powers, and admission to or discharge from hospital, the 2010 Measure is all about the support that should be available for people with mental health problems in Wales wherever they may be living.

The Measure became law in December 2010 but significant preparation was needed before it could be implemented. So the main provisions only began to take effect between April and October 2012 and it will be some time yet before the full impact will be felt. It is important, however, that people with mental health problems and their families understand the main points of the Measure and know about the support they are now legally entitled to.

The Measure is intended to ensure that where mental health services are delivered, they focus more appropriately on people’s individual needs. It has four main Parts (Parts 5 and 6 are essentially about administrative issues), and each places new legal duties on Local Health Boards and Local Authorities to improve service delivery. The four Parts are as follows.

• Part 1 seeks to ensure more mental health services are available within primary care.
• Part 2 gives all people who receive secondary mental health services the right to have a Care and Treatment Plan.
• Part 3 gives all adults who are discharged from secondary mental health services the right to refer themselves back to those services.
• Part 4 offers every in-patient access to the help of an independent mental health advocate.

Below we will look at each of the four parts of the Measure in more detail. Parts 2 and 3 will have the greatest impact for those with serious mental illnesses and who are receiving secondary care services but, as we explain, all have some relevance. However, before moving on to parts 1 to 4, we must begin by explaining some Guiding Principles.

THE GUIDING PRINCIPLES

These Guiding Principles are set out in the Code of Practice for Parts 2 and 3 and are particularly important for these Parts, but they are also relevant for the whole Measure. There are six in total and they are as follows.