Copyright newstatesman
The Mental Health Bill marks the biggest update to mental health law in more than 40 years. The bill strengthens patient autonomy, updates detention procedures and removes police stations as “places of safety”. These are vital reforms. But its focus is so narrow that it risks being washed away by the unfolding crisis in our wider mental health system. A crisis that has pushed countless families to breaking point, delivered rising hospitalisations and failed to prevent a 25-year high in suicide rates. The bill deals almost entirely with what happens once someone has been admitted to hospital – the rights, safeguards and treatment of patients in crisis. Prevention and community support are nearly entirely ignored. Without investment in those areas, even the most carefully written law will fall short of what people need. The rights created by this bill will mean little if the mental health system still lets people deteriorate until crisis is the only door open to them. Nearly a million people in England are waiting for mental health treatment. More than 340,000 are children, many waiting over a year. Behind each statistic is a life on hold: young people missing school, parents unable to work, families holding on by their fingertips. Many patients are treated in wards built as Victorian asylums, or left in prison cells awaiting transfer to hospital. The Liberal Democrats support this bill because it recognises that mental health law should be fairer and more compassionate. But reforming the rules that apply once someone is detained is only halfthe job. Without proper community care, early intervention and investment in local services, this legislation will end up managing failure rather than preventing it. That’s why we’ve tabled amendments to embed prevention and community care into the mental health system – not as an optional extra, but as its foundation. We believe mental health check-ups should become routine – ensuring people are supported at key points in life, such as bereavement, redundancy, parenthood or leaving the armed forces. We’ve highlighted the valuethat could be brought by guaranteeing a dedicated mental health professional in every school, creating walk-in hubs in every community, and providing better dedicated support for mothers’ mental health during pregnancy and after miscarriage. We must recognise that mental ill health is often intrinsically rooted in social and financial stressors – from debt and housing to domestic abuse – and we cannot meaningfully support someone with poor mental health without addressing these stressors. We must take a holistic approach. We’re pushing for a statutory, independent Mental Health Commissioner to speak up for patients, families and carers, and for better perinatal mental health support – including automatic referral after every miscarriage. One in five women experiences mental health problems during or after pregnancy; we must do better. Care plans must address social and financial pressures, including debt, housing and insecure work, so people aren’t discharged back into the same conditions that made them unwell. These reforms are achievable, but they require coordination and investment. Preventative care involves education, housing, employment and community services. If those building blocksaren’t in place, the best hospital care in the world cannot succeed. Ministers must accept that prevention and community support are essential partners to hospital care, not separate conversations. We can build a system that acts early, supports families locally and treats prevention as a core part of care. If it doesn’t, this bill will be a well-intentioned reform that leaves the same painful gaps untouched. We should not have to wait another 40 years for parliament to get this right
