Clause 40
Mental Health Bill [Lords]
11:45 am
John Pugh (Shadow Minister, Health; Southport, Liberal Democrat)
Surely the weakness of the Government’s position as it stands is that it does not preclude the indefinite absence or postponement of treatment if the case is sufficiently severe for there to be a public interest. For example, nobody could find a good hospital for Ronnie Cray, so he was left to fester in prison. Also, in the case of terrorists, the Government would never find a public interest case for hospitalising such people even if hospitalisation is medically recommended. Therefore, the weakness of the system is that it allows the indefinite absence and postponement of treatment without any review of that decision.