Mental health services must do more to respect people’s human rights, says CQC

Currently one in five people do not feel safe while in the care of the NHS mental health service

- Sector News
06.02.20

Mental health services need to improve how they provide care and treatment for people detained under the Mental Health Act, so that their human rights are respected, a report by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) has found.

The CQC looked at the care and treatment people receive when they are held under various sections of the Mental Health Act during 2018/19 and found that services need to do more to ensure that human rights principles and frameworks are applied and their impact on people is continuously reviewed and updated.

A report published by the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman has also found that one in five people do not feel safe while in the care of the NHS mental health service.

When asked to share details of their experiences, one survey participant said that after they attempted to take their own life and another respondent said that they felt they had been ‘talked over and about, not to’.

CQC: Monitoring the Mental Health Act in 2018/19

Ombudsman: 1 in 5 mental health patients don’t feel safe in NHS care, Ombudsman finds

Maybo perspective

Mental health services and the staff that work in them do really difficult and important work supporting people in crisis, often with very limited resources. Restrictions are a common cause of conflict and COVID has increased these and added to everyone's anxiety levels.
However testing we are finding the situation, it is vital we treat every person we support with respect and question whether restrictions to their human rights are necessary and proportionate.
When a person is unwell, struggling and vulnerable they will instinctively be thinking 'Do I feel safe in this place and with these people?'. If the answer to this basic human need is 'no', it will undermine their recovery.
This is why Maybo training embraces a human rights based, person centred approach. As employers we must respect, support and train our staff so that we can reasonably expect they do the same for the people in our care.