On 8th of September the Government published its latest draft Mental Health Bill. The Bill could replace the Mental Health Act 1983 which determines how people can be subject to ‘section’ – compulsory detention and treatment.

Wales’ leading mental health charity slams the new Mental Health Bill published today by the UK Government.

Hafal, the Welsh charity which provides support to people with severe mental illness and their families, has condemned the latest version of the UK Government’s Mental Health Bill as “Unjust and unworkable”.

The new Draft Mental Health Bill is expected to be published imminently by the government and we will provide information shortly thereafter.

Hafal welcomes the publication of a report on 28 July by the NHS treatments watchdog, the National Institute for Clinical Excellence, stating that the 170,000 people a year who attend hospital after deliberately harming themselves should be treated with the same care, respect and privacy as any other patient.

Hafal is looking at how progress is being made in Scotland where they have their own Mental Health Act. Bill Walden-Jones, Chief Executive of Hafal, is visiting National Schizophrenia Fellowship Scotland this week to find out first hand about the Mental Health Act (Scotland) 2003, which will come into force from April 2005.

A new facility – the Cardiff University Brain and Repair Language Centre – will be one of the first in the UK to have a range of state-of-the-art facilities for brain research including research into psychiatric disorder.

Mental health services in Pembrokeshire, Carmarthenshire and Ceredigion are threadbare and often unable to help service users with urgent needs, according to a Commission for Health Improvement investigation report published in March.

Hafal has called on the Welsh Assembly Government to tackle the scandal of institutional racism in the NHS by implementing the recommendations of the Rocky Bennett inquiry findings as a matter of urgency.

Bill Walden-Jones, Chief Executive of Hafal and John Saunders, Chief Executive of Schizophrenia Ireland were guests of Cliff Prior, Chief Executive of Rethink in Nottingham when they visited an advice line and employment/conservation project as well as discussing mutual concerns

The CHI has published its conclusions based on their review which took place between January and June 2003.