Mental health patients not given fair chance to challenge being held in hospital because of lockdown decisions, argues charity
Mental health patients feel they are not being given a fair chance to challenge being held in hospital because of lockdown decisions, a charity has claimed.But panels in Wales are not being held face-to-face due to Covid-19 and Mind Cymru said it has forced some patients to withdraw from the process.
A patient can be held in hospital under mental health laws if their safety or someone else's safety is at risk, or they need to be assessed or treated for a problem. The concerns have been building further since changes to mental health rules were introduced by emergency coronavirus legislation in March.
It now means only one doctor rather than two needs to sign-off the decision to detain a patient in hospital. Mind's legal expert said they had also been made aware of"a number of detained patients" experiencing difficulties communicating with their lawyers in remote hearings."We call on hospitals, the tribunal and lawyers to work together to ensure that patients have the proper access to the courts and a fair trial that they are legally required to have under article 6 of the European convention on human rights, which the UK is fully signed up to.
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