Mental Welfare Commission for Scotland

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The Mental Welfare Commission for Scotland is a non-departmental public body, responsible for safeguarding the rights and welfare of people in Scotland with a learning disability, mental illness or other mental disorder. The Commission was original established by the Mental Health (Scotland) Act 1960. [1]

In the United Kingdom, non-departmental public body (NDPB) is a classification applied by the Cabinet Office, Treasury, the Scottish Government and the Northern Ireland Executive to quangos. NDPBs are not an integral part of any government department and carry out their work at arm's length from ministers, although ministers are ultimately responsible to Parliament for the activities of bodies sponsored by their department.

Public bodies of the Scottish Government are organisations that are funded by the Scottish Government. It is a tightly meshed network of executive and advisory non-departmental public bodies ("quangoes"); tribunals; and nationalised industries.

Scotland Country in Europe, part of the United Kingdom

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Sharing a border with England to the southeast, Scotland is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, by the North Sea to the northeast and by the Irish Sea to the south. In addition to the mainland, situated on the northern third of the island of Great Britain, Scotland has over 790 islands, including the Northern Isles and the Hebrides.

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It enquires into cases of alleged ill treatment or deficiency of care or treatment, with investigations that include visits to alleged victims in hospitals and community settings.

The Commission is accountable to the Scottish Government Health and Social Care Directorates for its statutory duties and how its public money is spent. [2] It is required to follow NHS customary accounting rules and to meet NHS financial targets.

The Scottish Government is the executive government of the devolved Scottish Parliament. The government was established in 1999 as the Scottish Executive under the Scotland Act 1998, which created a devolved administration for Scotland in line with the result of the 1997 referendum on Scottish devolution. The government consists of cabinet secretaries, who attend cabinet meetings, and ministers, who do not. It is led by the first minister, who selects the cabinet secretaries and ministers with approval of parliament.

The Health and Social Care Directorates are a set of directorates of the Scottish Government. They are responsible for NHS Scotland, as well as policies on the development and implementation of health and social care.

NHS Scotland

NHS Scotland, sometimes styled NHSScotland, is the publicly funded healthcare system in Scotland. It operates 14 territorial NHS Boards across Scotland, seven special non-geographic health boards and NHS Health Scotland.

It has statutory duties to safeguard the interests of people considered to be mentally disordered or incapacitated under the Mental Health (Care and Treatment) (Scotland) Act 2003 or the Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act 2000. [3]

Mental disorder distressing thought or behavior pattern

A mental disorder, also called a mental illness or psychiatric disorder, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. Such features may be persistent, relapsing and remitting, or occur as a single episode. Many disorders have been described, with signs and symptoms that vary widely between specific disorders. Such disorders may be diagnosed by a mental health professional.

Mental Health (Care and Treatment) (Scotland) Act 2003


The Mental Health (Scotland) Act 2003, which came into effect on 5 October 2005, is an Act of the Scottish Parliament which enables medical professionals to detain and treat people against their will on grounds of mental disorder, with the Mental Health Tribunal for Scotland and the Mental Welfare Commission for Scotland providing safeguards against mistreatment.

Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act 2000

The Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act 2000 is an Act of the Scottish Parliament. It was passed on 29 March 2000, receiving royal assent on 9 May. It concerns the welfare of adults who are unable to make decisions for themselves because they have a mental disorder or are not able to communicate. It provides the framework for other people to act on the behalf of people with incapacity.

The Scottish Executive's introduction to the Act specifies:

"Part 2 of the 2003 Act sets out provisions relating to the continued existence of the Mental Welfare Commission for Scotland. The Commission will have:

These powers and duties should enable the Commission to maintain and develop its vital role in protecting the rights of service users, and in promoting the effective operation of mental health law. Schedule 1 of the Act sets out more detail on the membership, organisation and general powers of the Commission and makes provision for regulations to specify some matters in more detail, if necessary."

The same act also set up the Mental Health Tribunal for Scotland, which hears appeals against detentions and applications for compulsory treatment orders under the 2003 act.

The Mental Health Tribunal for Scotland is a tribunal of the Scottish Government to hear applications for, and appeals against, Compulsory Treatment Order, and appeals against Short Term Detention Certificates made under the Mental Health (Scotland) Act 2003, and other matters in relation to that Act, for example, appeals against Compulsion and Restriction Orders.

Working with other organisations

The Commission also works closely with several other organisations including the Office of the Public Guardian, Scottish Public Services Ombudsman (SPSO), Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC), Healthcare Improvement Scotland and the Care Inspectorate [4]

Location

The offices of the Commission are based in Edinburgh. In 2005 the Scottish Executive had wanted the Commission to relocate to Falkirk as part of a Scotland-wide approach to the location of government jobs. However, the Commission did not need to comply with the policy on the location of government jobs because it is an independent body. [5]

See also

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References

  1. UK Parliament. Mental Health (Scotland) Act 1960 as amended (see also enacted form ), from legislation.gov.uk .
  2. "About us: who are we". Mental Welfare Commission for Scotland. Retrieved 31 August 2014.
  3. "Who we are and what we do" (PDF). Mental Welfare Commission for Scotland. Retrieved 31 August 2014.
  4. "About us: Working with other organisations". Mental Welfare Commission for Scotland. Retrieved 31 August 2014.
  5. "Mental health body move dropped". BBC News . 8 June 2005. Retrieved 31 August 2014.

Further reading