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Mental Health Bill [Lords]

I beg to move, That the clause be read a Second time. My speech will take a little longer than the Minister just took in eventually forcing herself to say that she supported the last amendment we discussed. I hope that she will take a little less time to reach the same denouement on new clause 12. It should come as no surprise to her, as it mirrors amendments tabled in the Lords which she promptly savaged in Committee on very poor grounds. I hope that she has reconsidered and consulted experts, and will admit the error of her ways by now agreeing to restore this rightful amendment to the Bill, whose provisions were originally added to it in the Lords. New clause 12 represents a basic principle of mental health law: that patients should be involved in, and informed about, their treatment. People with mental illness are unpredictable. That is not something that just happens and goes away; it can come back, and people might live with many episodes of mental illness over many years. As a result, many people with mental illness develop a great knowledge of what works best for them when the illness flairs up; they develop coping mechanisms. They will therefore have their own views on the long-term use of what are powerful and potentially harmful drugs. Such drugs might be deeply unpalatable for some; we have addressed side effects in the past, such as weight gain, diabetes and disabling, embarrassing and at times painful movement disorders. It is essential that patients are involved in, and informed about, their treatment, and where they retain capacity, as many do, their wishes should be respected. The principle that compulsion should be the last resort underlies our approach to the Bill. For people with a mental illness, the best forms of therapy involve the trust of the clinician, who has the power to prescribe powerful—mind-altering or physical feature-altering—drugs. More than for any physical illness, it is essential that there is a position of trust between the patient and the clinician. We must respect the autonomy, personal integrity and personal responsibility of the patient. That is a basic human right. In the Bill in its current form—without the impaired decision-making amendments, as added in the Lords—there are inconsistencies compared with how we treat physical illness. The Bill is also still stigmatising, so we have reinserted the amendment that gives an impaired decision-making test, acknowledging that if someone suffers from a mental disorder, it does not automatically mean that they are not fully able to make decisions. That should help to reduce stigma and enhance personal autonomy and responsibility. I would hope that the Minister—along with all the other people and organisations who are interested in mental health—supports that. The addition of the impaired decision-making provision also makes the grounds for non-consensual medical interventions for people with a mental disorder similar to those for people with a physical disorder, thereby helping to reduce stigma and discrimination. I think that all Members agree that far too much stigma is still attached to mental illness. We have a lot more to do to reach a position where somebody going for treatment for a mental illness is viewed no differently from somebody going to a hospital for treatment for an illness such as cancer or heart disease. We are still a long way from achieving that. At the basis of our perceptions on this subject and how we can change them is the way we configure our laws on how people with mental illness are treated. That is why an impaired decision-making test is essential.