Speeches by Kinnock.

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Ms Furniss. Government amendments 26 to 29 seek to remove previous amendments to the clause tabled by Lord Kamall, Earl Howe and Baroness May of Maidenhead, which added police and other authorised persons to sections 2, 3 and 5 of the Mental Health Act 1983, giving the po…”

“I beg to move amendment 26, in clause 5, page 11, line 22, leave out— “by a constable or other authorised person”. One of the tests for detaining a person under the mental health legislation is that harm may be caused, or that treatment is not possible, without detention. This amendment and amendments 27, 28 and 29 rem…”

“I did not know that, Mr Vickers. Thank you for clarifying that point. To promote a patient-centred approach to discharge planning, we would prefer to avoid mandating in law which professionals should be present at discharge planning meetings. To formalise best practice, the Bill requires that the responsible clinician …”

“I thank hon. Members for this useful and insightful debate on care and treatment plans. I will begin by discussing amendments 14, 15 and 48. I reassure Members that the scope of the new statutory care and treatment plan has been made purposefully broad, so that wider matters relevant to a person’s mental health recover…”

“Absolutely. We must ensure that we act rapidly as soon as the Bill gets Royal Assent by launching the consultation process on the code of practice. It will be vital that the question of the practical application of Gillick and the need for clarity is universalised right across the system. The shadow Minister asked abou…”

“One theme raised by hon. Members on both sides of the Committee is the need for clarity and safeguards so that clinicians are clear on how best to assess competence. The Mental Health Act code of practice already provides guidance on establishing competence in under-16s. We will consult on the guidance for assessing co…”

“Clause 20 will make changes to wording under the Mental Health Act regarding the patient’s capacity and competence to consent to treatment so that it reflects the terminology used as standard by clinicians. While this amendment is not expected to create a practical change, it ensures consistency with other sections of …”

“We are very much on the same page in looking to harness the power of technology wherever we possibly can to shift from analogue to digital, but recognising the importance of putting the patient’s needs and disposition first. Telemental health is welcomed by many service users and has become an established part of deliv…”

“I will discuss the clause and review of treatment. Under the Act, the regulator, the CQC, is responsible for appointing individuals to provide independent second opinions on the administration of certain treatments. As part of that, the appointed person may visit, interview or examine the patient to make their determin…”

“The classification of which part III patients the clause applies to is at the heart of the shadow Minister’s question about ensuring that everything is co-ordinated and we do not have conflicting reports and timeframes. I think that that classification is clear, but to recap, the changes will apply to the following pat…”

“The purpose of clause 16 is twofold. First, it seeks to maintain the status quo around when the responsible clinician must report to the regulatory authority on the patient’s treatment and their condition. Currently, the Mental Health Act requires that the responsible clinician give a treatment report to the regulatory…”

“On the point about situations in which just the approved clinician provides certification, because of potential delays in appointment of the SOAD, such certification by the approved clinician can only occur in a very narrow set of circumstances, when the regulator has determined “that there will be a delay in appointin…”

“I will discuss a number of issues concerning the topic of urgent electroconvulsive treatment. Clause 15 makes a small practical change to the current protocol around administering electroconvulsive therapy. Currently, where the responsible clinician wishes to administer electroconvulsive therapy and the patient lacks c…”

“I will do that. Question put and agreed to. Clause 13 accordingly ordered to stand part of the Bill. Clause 14 ordered to stand part of the Bill. Clause 15 Electro-convulsive therapy etc Question proposed, That the clause stand part of the Bill.”

“The content of the Bill, in this context, has been produced on the basis of engagement with the second opinion appointed doctor service and clinical experts. That was partly around the decision to shorten the period to two months, as that allows time for medication to take effect, so that the appropriateness of the med…”

“Defining “compelling” will be an important part of the code of practice. We will include case studies and examples to help to put flesh on the bones of that and to illustrate it. But it is important to emphasise that a clinician would only be able to overrule a decision to refuse medication if they cannot identify a cl…”

“The power to give compulsory treatment is sometimes necessary to get a person well again, but unfortunately some clinicians can too easily resort to this course of action without considering alternatives. Compulsory, and sometimes forced, treatment can cause distress and trauma to the patient, and some say that this ha…”

“On the Opposition spokesman’s question about a specific timeframe, the wording of the clause— “as soon as reasonably practicable”— is a sufficient and fairly strong steer to the system that avoids the need to tie our hands with a specific timeframe. Consistency, training and monitoring are going to be important element…”

“It happened—it was real!”

“The clause will simply clarify existing legislation concerning the second opinion appointed doctor so that it more closely reflects current practice and terminology. It sets out the role of the regulatory authority in appointing a second opinion appointed doctor and the criteria that the second opinion appointed doctor…”