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Public mental health crisis management and Section 136 of the Mental Health Act.

O'Brien, A; Sethi, F; Smith, M; Bartlett, A (2018) Public mental health crisis management and Section 136 of the Mental Health Act. J Med Ethics, 44 (5). pp. 349-353. ISSN 1473-4257 https://doi.org/10.1136/medethics-2016-103994
SGUL Authors: Bartlett, Ann Elizabeth Adams O'Brien, Aileen Ann

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Abstract

The interface between mental health services and the criminal justice system presents challenges both for professionals and patients. Both systems are stressed and inherently complex. Section 136 of the Mental Health Act is unusual being both an aspect of the Mental Health Act and a power of arrest. It has a long and controversial history related to concerns about who has been detained and how the section was applied. More recently, Section 136 has had a public profile stemming from the use of police cells as places of safety for young, mentally disturbed individuals. This paper explores the current state of health of this piece of legislation. Specifically, we consider whether alternative approaches are more suitable for those individuals in crisis and/or distress who come into contact with the police. This requires careful thought as to the proper role of both health and criminal justice professionals who are daily grappling with an ethically contentious domain of multiagency work.

Item Type: Article
Additional Information: This article has been accepted for publication in Journal of Medical Ethics following peer review. The definitive copyedited, typeset version O’Brien A, Sethi F, Smith M, et al Public mental health crisis management and Section 136 of the Mental Health Act Journal of Medical Ethics 2018;44:349-353 is available online at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/medethics-2016-103994
Keywords: bills, laws and cases, mentally ill and disabled persons, psychiatry, bills, laws and cases, mentally ill and disabled persons, psychiatry, Applied Ethics, 1199 Other Medical And Health Sciences, 2201 Applied Ethics
SGUL Research Institute / Research Centre: Academic Structure > Institute of Medical & Biomedical Education (IMBE)
Academic Structure > Institute of Medical & Biomedical Education (IMBE) > Centre for Clinical Education (INMECE )
Journal or Publication Title: J Med Ethics
ISSN: 1473-4257
Language: eng
Dates:
DateEvent
26 April 2018Published
23 October 2017Published Online
4 October 2017Accepted
Publisher License: Publisher's own licence
PubMed ID: 29061655
Go to PubMed abstract
URI: https://openaccess.sgul.ac.uk/id/eprint/109444
Publisher's version: https://doi.org/10.1136/medethics-2016-103994

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