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New orders granted

In this section of the report, we look at all the new orders that were granted over the year. We have looked at trends over time in how the Mental Health (Care & Treatment) (Scotland) Act 2003 is being used. As well as looking at total numbers, this year we have looked at whether the 2003 Act is being used differently for men and women.

We found a general fall in the numbers of new civil orders of all types. The use of emergency detention for men is greater in the male population, but the fall in compulsory treatment orders (CTOs) is greater for women. There is a slight rise in the number of new orders for people with mental disorders who have been convicted of offences.

 

AR-08-09-table-01

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Our interest in these figures

Short-term detention should be the usual route into compulsory treatment.  We want to find out whether this is what happens. The use of short-term detention has gone up under the 2003 Act. We expected this but it means that, although fewer people are detained, those who are detained might be detained for longer.

This table shows how people enter a spell of compulsory treatment. We want to see how episodes start and what happens to people after they are first detained.

What we found

We were notified of 4,143 episodes of compulsory treatment during the year. This number has fallen consistently since the 2003 Act was introduced. It is slightly lower than last year and about 13% lower than the number of people detained each year under the 1984 Act. We believe that the more rigorous procedures, tighter grounds for compulsion and better expert assessment have reduced the need for compulsory treatment.

The shift toward short-term detention as the usual route into compulsion continues. The number of people detained under short-term certificates has risen by 12% since the 2003 Act was introduced.

This year there were 59 more people admitted directly under a short-term detention certificate. 79 fewer people were admitted under emergency detention certificates. 53% of people who are detained are now admitted under short-term detention certificates. We are pleased that this trend continues.

Since the 2003 Act came into force, fewer people have been given compulsory treatment than under the previous 1984 Act. We think this is because of tighter grounds for compulsion and because the procedure for admission is more demanding and needs greater expertise. More expert assessment should mean that compulsory treatment is only applied when absolutely necessary.

We remind psychiatrists to keep the need for short-term detention under review to make sure that people are not detained longer than is necessary and of benefit to them.