Assembly Member’s first clear route to better mental health provision in Wales
11 February 2010
Jonathan Morgan AM will be visiting mental health charity HAFAL at their St Fagan’s base this morning (11 Feb).
There he’ll meet the very people that his backbench Mental Health Services Legislative Competence Order is aimed at helping.
It’s the first ever Legislative Competence Order, the mechanism that allows the Assembly to draw down more powers from Westminster, from a backbench Assembly Member.
That order has now received Royal Approval and it clears the way for a new law (Assembly Measure) to improve assessment and treatment of mental health disorders before they become subject to compulsory detention under the Mental Health Act.
The Welsh Government or Assembly Member could also include the right to independent legal advice in any proposed Assembly Measure.
“This has paved the way to what could be the single biggest ever advancement in the provision of mental health services in Wales,” said Mr Morgan.
“At present those suffering from mental health disorders don’t get the advice, both legal and practical, that they should.
“In some cases it leads to delayed treatment which only makes the disorder worse.
“Mental health is an issue that, in the past, hasn’t received the attention it should have had due to the stigma that has sometimes been attached to it.
“In Wales we now have a chance to put that to bed once and for all and insure that those suffering from mental health services get the same access to services as other patients.”
The Welsh Government announced its intention to bring forward an Assembly Measure on mental health in July 2009 dependent on Mr Morgan’s LCO being passed by the UK Parliament.
When he proposed the Mental Health LCO Mr Morgan said that the most compelling piece of evidence for why reform is so long overdue came from Hafal service user Lee McCabe.
Speaking about the LCO Lee said: “Having given evidence to the committees considering the LCO I am pleased to see it finally get Royal Approval. I hope the new laws will mean that people with a serious mental illness can look forward to an improved, fairer service with more emphasis on care planning and early intervention.”