Mental Health (Amendment) (No.2) Bill

House of Commons

Session 1997-98
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Mental Health (Amendment) (No.2) Bill

This is the text of the Mental Health (Amendment) (No.2) Bill, as passed by the House of Lords and introduced in the House of Commons on 21 April 1998.

Mental Health (Amendment) (No.2) Bill

ARRANGEMENT OF CLAUSES

Clause

1. Strategies for the provision of in-patient and nursed bed facilities in psychiatric units.

2. Privacy and physical security for in-patients.

3. Design and construction of new psychiatric units.

4. Consequential.

5. Short title, commencement and extent.

A
B I L L
INTITULED
An Act to amend the Mental Health Act 1983 to provide greater access to hospital accommodation for mentally ill people; and for connected purposes.
BE IT ENACTED by the Queen's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:-

Strategies for the provision of in-patient and nursed bed facilities in psychiatric units.     1. After section 142 of the Mental Health Act 1983 (in this Act referred to as "the 1983 Act") there is inserted the following section-

"Strategies for the provision of in-patient and nursed bed facilities in psychiatric units.     142A. Each Health Authority shall be under a duty to-

(a) prepare a strategy for the provision of in-patient and other 24-hour nursed bed facilities for persons who, in the opinion of a registered medical practitioner approved under section 12(2) of this Act, require admission to psychiatric units for treatment of acute episodes of mental illness within separate and therapeutic environments;

(b) monitor progress towards implementing that strategy; and

(c) make a report annually to the Secretary of State on progress made towards implementing that strategy.".

Privacy and physical security for in-patients.     2. After section 142A of the 1983 Act there is inserted the following section-

"Privacy and physical security for in-patients.     142B. Each Health Authority shall be under a duty to ensure-

(a) the provision of single-sex ward areas in all existing psychiatric units;

(b) the provision of in-patient facilities for young people, separate from those for adults; and

(c) the fitting of appropriate security devices to all room and ward doors in all existing psychiatric units to prevent unauthorised intrusion.".

Design and construction of new psychiatric units.     3. After section 142B of the 1983 Act there is inserted the following section-

"Design and construction of new psychiatric units.     142C. Each Health Authority shall be under a duty to ensure that all future psychiatric units are, so far as is practicable, designed and constructed in a manner which enables them to fulfil the requirements of sections 142A and 142B of this Act.".

Consequential.     4. In section 145 (interpretation) of the 1983 Act, after the entry relating to "patient" there is inserted the following entry-

""psychiatric unit", in sections 142A to 142C, means any hospital or mental nursing home which provides treatment for mentally disordered persons;".

Short title, commencement and extent.     5. - (1) This Act may be cited as the Mental Health (Amendment) Act 1998.

    (2) The provisions of this Act shall come into force on the expiry of a period of six months from the date on which it is passed.

    (3) This Act extends to England and Wales only.

© Parliamentary copyright 1998
Prepared 22 April 1998