Exemples d'angleterre et du pays de galles:Le mental health act, une discrimination inscrite dans la loi? ; How the law can discriminate unfairly against subjects suffering from mental illness, as illustrated by the legal system from England and Wales
In: Szmukler , G & Khazaal , Y 2016 , ' Exemples d'angleterre et du pays de galles : Le mental health act, une discrimination inscrite dans la loi? ' , Schweizer Archiv fur Neurologie und Psychiatrie , vol. 167 , no. 1 , pp. 4-11 .
Conventional mental health legislation, England and Wales being an example, discriminates against people with a mental illness. The criteria governing involuntary treatment of patients with a 'mental' disorder are quite distinct from those governing involuntary treatment of patients with a 'physical' disorder. In the case of the former, two criteria operate: (1) the person has a 'mental disorder' - usually vaguely defined - And, (2) there is a risk of harm to the person or to others. For those with a 'physical disorder' the criteria are usually (1) a lack of 'decision-making capacity', and (2) the treatment must in the person's 'best interests'. Thus the autonomy of the person with mental illness is not accorded the same respect as other patients. Mental health legislation reflects deeply embedded cultural stigmatising stereotypes - That persons with a mental illness are incompetent and dangerous. We propose a non-discriminatory legal framework for legislation that is generic - covering all persons with impaired decision-making capacity, whatever the cause, whatever the diagnosis, and in any healthcare (and indeed, social care) setting. Termed a 'Fusion Law', it combines complementary, strengths of both incapacity and civil commitment schemes. We suggest that the fusion model is consistent with the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Such legislation would be an important step in reducing unfair legal discrimination against persons with mental disorder and in providing a sound basis for 'coercive' treatments in psychiatry. Consistent ethical principles would thus be applied across all medical law.