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New orders granted in 2007-08

Accessing and exiting compulsory treatment - episode sequences

Table 1 shows all the episodes of detention reported to us in 2007-08. We have compared them with our figures for the previous year. Overall, the total number of episodes reported to us has fallen by 4%, compared with the previous year, the largest reduction being in the number of very brief episodes of emergency detentions. This continues the trend we have seen since the introduction of the 2003 Act. Strict grounds for emergency detention coupled with improved crisis services are the likeliest explanations for this particular reduction.

table01

Download Table 1 in Excel format


We also wondered whether the use of compulsory treatment in the community is reducing the number of episodes of hospital detention. Could it be that community measures are supporting people better, preventing relapse and reducing the number of emergency and short-term admissions?

In addition to the episodes in Table 1 we also found 107 admissions of people who did not comply with community measures (seeTable 26). If all of these people would previously have been admitted under emergency and short-term detention under the old Act, the total number of episodes has actually fallen by just under 2%, rather than the 4% shown in Table 1. Therefore, we do not think we can say that compulsory treatment in the community is resulting in a significant reduction in the need for compulsory admission, but we will continue to monitor this closely.