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Using the Measure for Measure – How the Mental Health (Wales) Measure 2010 and the NHS Redress (Wales) Measure 2008 Can Improve the Rights of the Mentally Ill / ALUN THOMAS
Swansea University Author: ALUN THOMAS
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PDF | E-Thesis – open access
Copyright: The Author, Alun H. Thomas, 2025. Licensed under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial-Share Alike (CC-BY-NC-SA) license. Third party content is excluded for use under the license terms.
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DOI (Published version): 10.23889/SUthesis.70691
Abstract
This thesis explores the development of Welsh mental health law, focussing on how the rights of people with serious mental illness may be protected by creating an automatic financial redress mechanism to address service failure. The Mental Health Act 1983 legislates for the detention of patients, th...
| Published: |
Swansea
2025
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| Institution: | Swansea University |
| Degree level: | Doctoral |
| Degree name: | Ph.D |
| Supervisor: | Jones, Caroline ; Hoffman, Simon |
| URI: | https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa70691 |
| Abstract: |
This thesis explores the development of Welsh mental health law, focussing on how the rights of people with serious mental illness may be protected by creating an automatic financial redress mechanism to address service failure. The Mental Health Act 1983 legislates for the detention of patients, the provision of safeguards for those detained, and the authority for ongoing restriction of liberty; it does not set standards for the quality or responsiveness of service delivery. The Mental Health Act 1983 will be reviewed during this new Labour administration in Westminster; however, recent tragedies appear to be driving a fear culture in lawmakers. This thesis examines the development of mental health legislation in the UK and its impact on the individual, from the Lunacy and Vagrancy Acts of the nineteenth and early twentieth century, through the consequences of war and trauma, to the current day. The validity of such legislation is considered with regard to the United Nations Convention for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities which opposes detention for a disability. Welsh law and policy offer potential divergence from UK mental health legislation by focussing on early intervention, co-production, and citizenship. Devolution of powers provided opportunities for the development of Welsh mental health law, and while the Mental Health Act 1983 remains extant, Welsh law offers alternative routes for further development of a rights-based approach to mental health care. In this thesis, the divergence of Welsh and UK Governmental approaches is examined to identify potential routes for the development of Welsh mental health law which may provide reciprocity by creating financial penalties for failure to provide assessment within a reasonable timescale. While the financial redress can only compensate, the existence of such redress could shift the focus from compulsion to early intervention, fostering a more compassionate mental health system in Wales. |
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| Keywords: |
Mental, Wales, Redress, Rights, Mental Health (Wales) Measure 2010, Law |
| College: |
Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Funders: |
Adferiad Recovery |