The New Mental Health Act: Putting Principles into Practice - Information for Service Users and their Carers

2 What are the principles for?

The Mental Health Act principles are there to help people understand how the law should work in practice. The principles were developed through consultation about what people felt was important to them when they were being treated for a mental disorder. Users and carers, as well as professionals, were involved in this consultation. The principles are a set of guidelines for how professionals should work when providing treatment and care under the Act. They do not provide you with legal rights in the same ways as other parts of the Act, but you can use principles as a guide to what you should expect from the people and organisations who provide your care and treatment. Although the principles are intended to apply to people who are receiving compulsory care and treatment under the Mental Health Act, they are also a useful guide for people receiving treatment on a voluntary basis.

Put into practice, these principles work to promote respect for your individual needs and to support your recovery. The most important theme of the principles is the importance of your participation in all decision-making that affects you.

The 'voice of experience' quoted in this leaflet are quotes from Highland User Group members. They have been included to help show how applying the principles could impact on the care and treatment people receive.

The voice of experience

"I think people need to be told that they do have certain rights even when they are being given compulsory treatment. They can still be involved in their treatment. I think sometimes when you are under a section it's as if you are a second-class citizen. I think that doctors and nurses need to remember that the way you are treated in hospital can have an effect, not just on your illness at that time but can also have repercussions on your future."