Patterns of use of the Mental Health Act 1983, from 2007-2008 to 2016-2017, in two major London secondary mental healthcare providers

Sian Oram; Craig Colling; Megan Pritchard; Mizanur Khondoker; Daniela Fonseca de Freitas; Lucile Ter-Minassian; Johnny Downs; Brynmor Lloyd-Evans; Sarah Markham; Nomi Werbeloff; Chin-Kuo Chang; Sonia Johnson; Matthew Hotopf; Richard D Hayes

doi:10.1192/bjo.2019.84

Patterns of use of the Mental Health Act 1983, from 2007-2008 to 2016-2017, in two major London secondary mental healthcare providers

BJPsych Open. 2019 Nov 27;5(6):e102. doi: 10.1192/bjo.2019.84.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Senior Lecturer in Women's Mental Health, NIHR Mental Health Policy Research Unit & Section for Women's Mental Health, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, UK.
² Information Manager, NIHR Biomedical Research Centre, South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, UK.
³ CRIS Training and Development Lead, NIHR Biomedical Research Centre, South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, UK.
⁴ Senior Lecturer in Medical Statistics, Norwich Medical School, University of East Anglia, UK.
⁵ Postdoctoral Researcher, Department of Psychological Medicine, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, UK.
⁶ Research Worker, Department of Psychological Medicine, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, UK.
⁷ Clinical Lecturer, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, UK.
⁸ Senior Lecturer, NIHR Mental Health Policy Research Unit, Division of Psychiatry, UCL, UK.
⁹ Visiting Researcher, Department of Biostatistics, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, UK.
¹⁰ Senior Research Associate, Division of Psychiatry, UCL; and Camden and Islington NHS Foundation Trust, UK.
¹¹ Associate Professor, Department of Health and Welfare, University of Taipei, Taiwan.
¹² Professor of Social and Community Psychiatry, NIHR Mental Health Policy Research Unit, Division of Psychiatry, UCL; and Camden and Islington NHS Foundation Trust, UK.
¹³ Professor of General Hospital Psychiatry, Department of Psychological Medicine, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, UK.
¹⁴ Senior Lecturer, Department of Psychological Medicine, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, UK.

Abstract

Trends in detention under the Mental Health Act 1983 in two major London secondary mental healthcare providers were explored using patient-level data in a historical cohort study between 2007-2008 and 2016-2017. An increase in the number of detention episodes initiated per fiscal year was observed at both sites. The rise was accompanied by an increase in the number of active patients; the proportion of active patients detained per year remained relatively stable. Findings suggest that the rise in the number of detentions reflects the rise of the number of people receiving secondary mental healthcare.

Keywords: Compulsory admission; Mental Health Act; epidemiology.