New Clause 5
Mental Health Bill [Lords]
5:45 pm
Rosie Winterton (Minister of State (Health Services), Department of Health; Doncaster Central, Labour)
The new clause certainly raises an important issue. I appreciate the concerns that exist around the use of interventions such as seclusion and mechanical restraint in managing disturbed behaviour. I know that the subject concerns my hon. Friend the Member for Norwich, North as well, obviously because of the very distressing case of Rocky Bennett and the following inquiry.
Many issues have come to the Government’s attention in the past few years. I can assure the Committee that we share the common objective of ensuring that there is no inappropriate use of seclusion, restraint or similar interventions. We want to see such measures taken only when they are essential and used properly, and that patients have adequate safeguards.
However, I must tell the hon. Member for Southport that new clause 5 is not the best way in which to address those concerns. It would not be practical to define in regulations all the situations in which disturbed behaviour may need to be managed and the range of techniques that may be used and it would limit the ability of staff to respond flexibly to the wide range of situations that they may face. There are circumstances in which restraint will be the only action available to make a dangerous situation safe. Also, regulations run the risk of inhibiting the development of new and improved techniques for managing difficult behaviour. We have to be careful not to do that.
The management of disturbed behaviour and the techniques involved are not regulated specifically by the Mental Health Act, but they are subject to general criminal and public law, including the Human Rights Act 1998. They are also subject to the professional duties and obligations of the practitioners involved. We have reflected the 2004 guidance from the National Institute for Mental Health in England in the code of practice, which also advises adherence to the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence guidelines, which were issued in 2005. That guidance addresses the issue of the management of aggression and violence, including restraint.
The Healthcare Commission and the Health Inspectorate Wales will be mindful of the guidance when they visit hospital units—they would wish to be satisfied that it is being followed.