Conservatives pledge to tear up Mental Health Act and end police cell detention for mentally unwell

Theresa May has pledged to tear up mental health legislation to stop growing numbers of vulnerable people being unnecessarily detained in police cells.

The Prime Minister said a Conservative government would make it an early priority following the General Election to replace the 1983 Mental Health Act.

That would involve a commitment for 10,000 more staff in NHS mental health services by 2020.

Speaking on the BBC’s The Andrew Marr Show, Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt said current legislation was bad for vulnerable people and police officers who were helping those with mental health conditions.

He said: "If you have a child who has severe mental health problems and you find that that child, instead of getting treated by the NHS, actually ends up in a police cell, that is a terrible thing for the child, will probably make their condition worse, but it’s also very bad for the police as well.

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"We also want to stop the fact that one in six of us has a mental health disorder… we want to stop the fact that you can lose your job for that and suffer discrimination, in a way that you would not be able to suffer if you were disabled or (had) other conditions."

Mrs May has promised to introduce "sweeping" reforms to the Equalities Act to prevent discrimination at work.

Under the plans, people with intermittent conditions including depression, anxiety and bipolar disorder would be given the same protection currently granted to those with problems which have lasted more than 12 months.

Children in schools in England and Wales would also be taught more about mental well-being, including keeping safe online and cyberbullying.

In her first speech as Prime Minister, Mrs May identified shortfalls in mental health services were one of the "burning injustices".

The number of people detained under the Mental Health Act has increased by 43% in the last 10 years. Black people are significantly more likely to be held in secure mental health wards.

A report by the Care Quality Commission said the act contained "failings that may disempower patients, prevent people from exercising legal rights, and ultimately impede recovery or even amount to unlawful and unethical practice".

Mrs May said: "We are going to roll out mental health support to every school in the country, ensure that mental health is taken far more seriously in the workplace, and raise standards of care with 10,000 more mental health professionals working in the NHS by 2020."

Former Lib Dem health minister Norman Lamb said: "I’m sick and tired of great rhetoric from this Government about their commitment to mental health but the reality for families across our country is just so very different.

"How can we believe anything they say when they have made it clear today that they won’t invest any more from extra taxation?"

(c) Sky News 2017: Conservatives pledge to tear up Mental Health Act and end police cell detention for mentally unwell