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Proceeding contribution from Lord Alderdice (Liberal Democrat) in the House of Lords on Wednesday, 10 January 2007. It occurred during Committee of the Whole House (HL) and Debate on bill on Mental Health Bill [HL].


Mental Health Bill [HL]

I am grateful to the Minister for giving way. Does he accept that in medicine generally, enormous caution is urged on physicians, surgeons and others not to take a treatment approach with which they are not familiar, comfortable and well versed? If they have any doubt whatever about their ability to be successful in the treatment, they are urged ethically by their professional bodies and by the Government not to proceed. That has meant super-specialisation in a whole range of areas—beyond what may even be sensible at times, but that is definitely the pressure. What is stated here is that psychiatrists who do not believe that their particular approach to treatment has something to offer a particular group of patients or individual patient are pressed into treating people they do not believe they have the skills or resources to deal with. There is a problem there. Professionally, the pressure is all one way but, in this specific area, it appears to be in the other direction.


Secondary information

Type
Proceeding contribution
Reference
688 c318 
Session
2006-07
Chamber / Committee
House of Lords chamber
Subjects
Codes of practice Consent to medical treatment Community care Mental illness Medical treatments Mentally disordered offenders Patients' rights Psychiatric patients Mental health services Mental health Psychiatric hospitals Testing Social services
Legislation
Mental Health Bill (HL) 2006-07
Link
View this Proceeding contribution on www.publications.parliament.uk