Mental Health Law Update - Live at Your Desk

Introduction

The Mental Health Act 1983 has long been a contentious piece of legislation. It allows for people who are felt to be mentally unwell to be deprived of their liberty and other fundamental human rights for the purposes of treatment, often against their will.

The Mental Capacity Act 2005, when it was introduced, marked a significant turning-point in both the rights and treatment of people who lacked the capacity to make decisions in certain aspects of their life. The MCA sought to bring those people into the very heart of the decision-making process and to continue to engage them, insofar as their needs allow.

The interplay between the MHA and the MCA has become increasingly important in recent years, to the extent that any lawyer who works in this highly dynamic and demanding area of law needs to have a thorough understanding of the key principles of both.

As Mental Health Tribunals and the Court of Protection have moved over to video hearings in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is anticipated that these will increasingly become a feature of the legal landscape.

During this live session broadcast we will also consider how these changes will, of necessity, bring about changes in our approach to advocacy and a change in the skillset of the practitioner.

The live session will also include an update on recent caselaw, policy and guidance.

What You Will Learn

This live and interactive broadcast will cover the following:

• The key principles of the Mental Capacity Act
• The key sections of the Mental Health Act
• How the Acts interact with each other
• The importance of bringing the incapacitous client into the heart of the decision-making process
• What the liberty protection safeguards are designed to achieve (and when they might be implemented)
• The interplay between s117 MHA aftercare and continuing healthcare funding
• Advocacy skills - including the effective cross-examination of expert medical and social care witnesses
• The ethics surrounding the representation of mentally unwell clients
• The appropriate use of nearest relatives and other non-expert witnesses
• How best to challenge written reasons

Recording of live sessions: Soon after the Learn Live session has taken place you will be able to go back and access the recording - should you wish to revisit the material discussed.