Brummies TWICE as likely to be sectioned under Mental Health Act

260 people were detained under the Act over past year - more than twice the number of other UK areas

 

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People in Birmingham are more than twice as likely to be sectioned as those in other parts of the country.

Data released today shows that 260 people have detained under the Mental Health Act in the Birmingham South and Central CCG area in the 12 months to the end of March this year.

That works out as one person in 592 – compared to the national average of one person in 1,223.

Only a handful of places in England have a higher rate of sectioning, led by Lambeth in London (one person in 470) and Bradford City (one person in 513).

Sandwell and West Birmingham saw 455 people section (one person in 800), while in Birmingham Crosscity it was 555 (one person in 1,000).

In Wolverhampton, it was 190 (one person in 1,020), while in Walsall it was 150 (one in 1,409).

In Solihull, it was just 105 (one in 1,563), and in Dudley just 110 (one in 2,326).

Coventry and Rugby had the lowest rate in the region, at just one in 3,448.

Man suffering from depression

 

That means someone in Birmingham South and Central was more than 10 times more likely to be sectioned that someone in Coventry and Rugby.

Nationally, there was a strong correlation between the number of people detained under the Mental Health Act and areas with high levels of deprivation.

The areas with the lowest levels of sectioning were in relatively affluent southern coastal areas including Eastbourne, Hailsham and Seaford, Coastal West Sussex, West Hampshire, Hasting and Rother, Fareham and Gosport, Southampton and Brighton and Hove.

Man suffering from depression

 

The Mental Health Act is a law which allows someone to be detained and treated in hospital against their wishes.

It will generally only be used when all other options have been considered.

In order to be sectioned, someone must be suffering from a mental disorder of a degree which merits being held in the hospital.

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The decision must be in the interests of the patient’s safety and health, or with a view to the protection of others.

Someone can be sectioned if three people involved in an assessment agree that the person needs to be detained and meets the criteria.

Usually, these people will include an approved mental health professional, such as a social worker with extra training, plus two doctors.

The figures, released by NHS Digital, are rounded to the nearest five to avoid identifying individuals.

 

 

 

Credit: Birmingham Mail

 

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