Mental health and capacity laws in Northern Ireland and the COVID-19 pandemic: Examining powers, procedures and protections under emergency legislation

Farrell, Anne-Maree; Hann, Patrick

doi:10.1016/j.ijlp.2020.101602

Cited by 5 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 14 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…During the COVID-19 pandemic, new legal provisions were introduced in the UK to expedite transfer of care, in order to address resource allocation challenges. This meant that, in extreme circumstances, HCPs no longer needed to complete care needs assessments for individual patients/service users and could make care decisions without considering the wishes and preferences of these individuals or their advocates (Farrell & Hann, 2020;Ruck Keene, 2020;Stavert & McKay, 2020). Our findings suggest that these new legal provisions were implemented in some settings and people were not involved in decisions about their care.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 92%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Mental capacity legislation and communication disability: A cross‐sectional survey exploring the impact of the COVID‐19 pandemic on the provision of specialist decision‐making support by UK SLTs

Jayes

Borrett

Bose

2021

Intl J Lang & Comm Disor

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background: Mental capacity legislation in the UK is designed to safeguard the rights of people who may need support, or may be unable, to make autonomous decisions. Very limited evidence has been published about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the application of mental capacity legislation and, to our knowledge, none on the ability of speech and language therapists (SLTs) to support people with communication disabilities to engage in decision-making. Aims: To describe how UK SLTs supported people with communication disabilities to make decisions and participate in mental capacity assessments, best interests decision-making and advance care planning during the COVID-19 pandemic.Methods & Procedures: This descriptive, cross-sectional study used an online survey to collect quantitative and qualitative data about SLTs' practice experiences between August and November 2020. SLTs working with a range of adult clinical populations in different care settings were sampled purposively from all UK jurisdictions. Participants were recruited through professional networks and social media. Quantitative data were summarized using descriptive statistics. Qualitative data were analysed thematically.Outcomes & Results: Data were collected from 107 SLTs working in a range of settings across all four UK nations. The sample included SLTs working with people with neurological conditions, learning disabilities, mental health conditions and acute confusion. The need for SLT support appeared to increase during the pandemic. Most respondents were still able to offer support; however, the amount and nature of support varied. Quality of support was impacted by adjustments associated with social distancing and infection control restrictions. Personal protective equipment (PPE) was identified as a barrier to communication. Indirect working methods (e.g., telehealth) were inaccessible to some people with communication disabilities. Most respondents felt confident that legal requirements were upheld, but suggested this group was less able to engage in 172

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 92%

“…Legal requirements to ensure equity of access to health and social care and universal service design in the UK still applied during the COVID-19 pandemic (Farrell & Hann, 2020;Ruck Keene, 2020;Stavert & McKay, 2020). Similarly, mental capacity legislation remained largely unchanged across the three UK jurisdictions.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mental capacity legislation and communication disability: A cross‐sectional survey exploring the impact of the COVID‐19 pandemic on the provision of specialist decision‐making support by UK SLTs

Jayes

Borrett

Bose

2021

Intl J Lang & Comm Disor

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The response does not appear to be affected by the pandemic. Interestingly, some countries are starting to worry about whether the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic could affect this response and, for example, Northern Ireland has already changed the law to facilitate these procedures [15]. Despite the increase in the number of patients brought with assessment orders, a lower percentage of these were hospitalised in 2020 than in 2019.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on the demand for mental health care

Alves¹,

Marques²,

Carvalho³

2021

Swiss Arch Neurol Psychiatr Psychother

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

INTRODUCTION: According to a survey carried out in 130 World Health Organization member countries, 93% of these countries revealed a disruption in their mental health care during the pandemic period. Our purpose was to study the impact of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic on visits to the psychiatric emergency department of a hospital centre.METHODS: A retrospective study was designed to characterise the visits to the emergency department during a lockdown period of 2020 in comparison with the same period of 2019. Sociodemographic aspects, assessment orders, diagnosis, suicide attempts and post-discharge destination were assessed.RESULTS: There was a 54.7% reduction in the total number of visits to the psychiatric emergency department in 2020. No significant variation was found in the main municipalities of origin or in the age of the patients. The number of assessment orders was higher in 2020. The most common diagnostic classification was mood disorders (F30-F39, ICD-10 classification) in both years, with a decrease in cases by 70.5% in 2020. The rate of hospitalisations was maintained, with a trend to an increase of the compulsory hospitalisations. CONCLUSIONS: Although there was a decrease in the attendance at the psychiatric emergency department associated with the pandemic, the response to serious clinical situations was guaranteed. Despite the risks associated with infection by SARS-CoV-2, it is essential to maintain the provision of mental health care.

show abstract

“…115 This added to existing concerns that (extended) time limits under the MHO interfere with a patient's human rights due to delays to an appeal, for example. 116 This is quite apart from the fact that even in non-emergency times, the potential exists for a patient's involuntary detention to remain unchallenged for up to two years under the MHO, which in any case represents a violation of their CRC rights. 117 the publication of the Bamford Review reports, there ensued a lengthy consultation period regarding mental health law reform.…”

Section: B Irelandmentioning

confidence: 99%