Adventures in 136 Land

Imagine this: you’re the police officer attending an incident where, despite your best efforts to do something different, you have no choice but to detain someone under s136 of the Mental Health Act 1983. You considered street triage, you called family and ultimately felt there was no other way, consistent with keeping this person safe […]

Manchester Victoria

Late last night, it was announced by Greater Manchester Police that a twenty-five year old man arrested in connection with the New Year’s Eve stabbings at Victoria station had been ‘sectioned’ under the Mental Health Act and that the investigation was ongoing. Within five minutes, literally, social media was full of comment – much of […]

Twenty Nineteen

The forthcoming year is the sixtieth birthday of the first piece of modern mental health legislation – the Mental Health Act 1959. It’s worth noting this milestone, in my opinion, because sixty years on we are still struggling to think about how we give effect in the real world to some of its requirements. Section […]