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Monitoring care & treatment
Our current monitoring priorities 2011/12
As well as producing general monitoring and trend data on the use of mental health and incapacity law, we also produce special reports on areas of care and treatment where we have particular concerns. Our current priorities are:
Children and young people under 18
The principles of the Mental Health Act say that the welfare of children and young people under 18 should be of paramount concern to those providing mental health care and treatment. Children and young people should not receive care and treatment in adult mental health or learning disability settings.
We have concerns about services provided to children and young people. Too many children and young people are admitted to adult wards. These are not appropriate places for young and vulnerable people to get the treatment and support they need. Even in areas where there is specific provision for in-patient services, young people are being admitted to adult wards. We are collecting information so that we can report in more detail on the care and treatment of children and young people.
Individuals who have been detained under an Emergency Detention Certificate (EDC's)
We will be looking into cases where an individual was admitted to hospital informally, including those already subject to a Community Compulsory Treatment Order, and then subsequently detained under an EDC.
We are principally interested in the reasons why the EDC was necessary. We will be looking to see if any other options were explored, for example the use of nurses holding powers. We will also be looking at MHO consent, why a Short Term Detention Certificate was not used and where possible, what were the individual's views about the process.
Section 47 certificates
We want to try and gauge how widespread the use and understanding is of Part 5 of the Adults with Incapacity Act. We will carry out a series of visits to check whether the forms are correctly in place or not.
We are hoping to have a large sample from non psychiatry Care of the Elderly wards, care homes, residential settings, rehabilitation and long stay wards as well as some from learning disability wards, and old age psychiatry wards.
Our monitoring priorities