Since April 2009, The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has been responsible for monitoring the use of the Mental Health Act in relation to those patients detained in hospital, subject to guardianship or placed on a community treatment order. You can now access the online annual report into the use of the Mental Health Act from April 2009 to March 2010. You can also read CQC's chair Jo Williams' 'Opinion piece' which ncludes the extract below...
On average, 367 CTOs have been made each month. This is at least tenfold the number anticipated at the time the legislation was introduced. Interestingly, CTOs do not appear to have reduced hospital-based detention, because we are seeing a rise in the number of detained patients. CTOs were particularly intended for so-called 'revolving door' patients, who do not comply with their treatment or engage with community mental health services following their discharge. The order allows for them to be recalled if necessary.
We found, in a sample of over 200 patients, that 30 per cent did not have a history of non-compliance or disengagement. This could be one of the reasons for the number of CTOs, and it poses an important question about the basis on which hospitals are making their judgment when applying these orders. 49,417 detentions under the Mental Health Act took place during 2009/2010 - a record number. To download the full report, the overview report, easy read, large print, audio and hard copy versions visit the CQC website.