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Mental Health Bill [HL]

My Lords, I support the amendment from a slightly different angle. The focus has tended to be on the requirement to note what treatment the patient wants when the treating clinician may think differently, ensuring that the patient’s views are expressed and protected. There is another element. Sometimes patients can request all sorts of treatment, repeatedly, over quite a short period. The clinician is almost assaulted with a range of requests. Every time they see the patient, they will have a different set of requests to change the drugs or do something else. It is important that these matters are recorded so that anyone coming back to look at them understands something of the difficulty of interaction, perhaps because of disturbance of the patient’s mind or personality. I am reminded of interaction that we had with the police service over a long time in Northern Ireland. We were trying to persuade them that it would be helpful for everybody concerned to videotape all interviews, and that it was in their interests as well as those of the interviewees because they would be protected when allegations were made against them. It took a long time, but they eventually agreed to audio taping and, eventually, to videotaping. When everyone looked back, they agreed that far fewer allegations were subsequently made, because there was no point in making allegations with no basis. That is not an alternative to the arguments made but it is another side to them. For colleagues to realise that if they were to note some things—even if they think they are ill advised, unhelpful or tedious—it would protect them. It encourages them to think about the thing, and helps anyone coming in afterwards to give a second opinion or whatever to realise some of the difficulties and struggle in the clinical relationship. For that reason, as well as those already given, I support the amendment.