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Mental Health Bill [HL]

My Lords, I want briefly to appeal to the Minister and the House to recognise that these are complex disorders and situations. It is a fantasy to believe that the first time that a psychiatrist meets such a patient they will know precisely what is the diagnosis; that, even if they do, they will know what is the best treatment; and, even more contentiously, that they will be clear about the prognosis. To believe otherwise is to be in cloud-cuckoo-land. These are complex, difficult disorders. Until one sees how they work out in practice—whether patients relapse; whether particular treatments work; whether compulsion, inpatient or outpatient treatment works best—other than from the experience of working with the patient, one cannot know. To embark on compulsion from an early stage is, at best, unwise and, at worst, professionally irresponsible.