Keywords
Citation
(2005), "King's Fund", International Journal of Health Care Quality Assurance, Vol. 18 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/ijhcqa.2005.06218aab.006
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2005, Emerald Group Publishing Limited
King's Fund
King’s FundMental Health Bill
Keywords: Mental health services, Public interest, Legislation, Service delivery
Revised mental health bill must not waste opportunity to improve services for people with mental health problems, says King’s Fund. Responding to the publication of the Government’s revised draft Mental Health Bill, the King’s Fund today warned Ministers not to squander an historic opportunity to come up with workable legislation that truly supports people with mental health problems while taking account of legitimate public safety issues.
King’s Fund chief executive Niall Dickson said: “We have all waited too long for this legislation. Let us hope that this is not another wasted opportunity – this time politicians really must listen to those who use these services as well as the nurses, doctors, psychologists and all the other professionals who provide them.” But the King’s Fund did welcome the Government’s decision to put the draft Bill to a cross-party pre-legislative scrutiny committee before introducing a Bill to Parliament. Simon Lawton-Smith, the King’s Fund’s senior policy adviser in mental health, said: “This is a welcome opportunity to debate the key issues and we will be looking carefully at the revised draft to see whether the concerns of many organisations in this field have been taken on board.”
The King’s Fund is part of the Mental Health Alliance, a coalition of over 60 service user and carer groups, charities and professional bodies.