Last year the Office for People with Disabilities consulted on the recent UN Declaration of Human Rights for People with Disabilities (Detention Note 4), They were supposed to develop a plan to comply with this law, as the UK is a signatory to the UN Convention of Human Rights, and this declaration, effectively makes it illegal to detain someone against their will because they are unwell and it effectively makes it illegal to forcibly treat someone. In its response, and after consultation the government has made little or no plans to change Mental Health Law, as instructed by the UN Commissioner. I wanted to find out just how much the psychiatric community knows about this declaration. The Department in question, only consulted with one mental health organisation, in a list of about 50 disability organisations. I then wrote to all the mental health NHS Trusts in England and Wales to find out whether they had been told about the declaration. None were told. Zero. The Chief Executives of over 50 mental health Trusts were not told about a very significant change in international law. Pretty shocking stuff. If you want to find out more about this issue, then please visit: Mental Health Manifesto. To me this is a greatest leap forward in mental health in its history. It is comparable to the civil rights movement and the suffragettes movement. The right not be locked up and forced to take medication is a very big deal indeed, and yet awareness of it is almost non-existant. I have yet to meet anyone working in NHS or members of the public who are aware of it. So please take a look at this declaration, particularly if you are a patient or carer. It might just help you or your loved one, in the future.
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