Care & treatment for people on short term detention certificates
Introduction
The Mental Welfare Commission has a duty to monitor and report on the operation of the Mental Health (Care & Treatment)(Scotland) Act 2003. We also have a duty promote best practice in relation to the principles or the Act. We do this in a number of ways; one of these is by visiting individuals who are subject to compulsory care and treatment.
This report provides an overview of our visits to a sample of individuals subject to short-term detention certificates (STDCs) across Scotland. While a person is detained on a STDC their clinical team should carry out regular assessments and make appropriate care and treatment decisions. They should also start planning the individual's future care arrangements. For some people this may mean discharge from hospital, some may decide to remain in hospital on a voluntary basis, while others may need a longer period of compulsory treatment either at home or in the community.
We visited a total of 284 individuals who were receiving care and treatment in 34 hospitals across 11 NHS Board areas.We spoke to people about the care and treatment they were receiving; what they thought was working well and what could be improved.
During our visits we also reviewed individual care records and spoke with staff, carers and advocates.
We gathered information on:
- Care planning and reviews
- Participation
- Named persons
- Access to advocacy
- Advance statements
- Consent to treatment
- Right of appeal
- Level of contact with professionals
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