A chara, – The treatment of mental health problems is at times complex and in the case highlighted by Mary Donnelly (Opinion & Analysis, February 9th) an ethical and legal dilemma. One can only suppose that, in this case, the individual is not detainable under the Mental Health Act, but still possesses a significant risk to themselves, or others; hence the de facto detention. Such scenarios present a significant challenge to the rhetoric of recovery and patient-centredness but also to the claim of psychiatry as a medical science.
The result of diverging psychiatric opinions can be as brutal as the reality of this particular voluntary patient “being restrained and sedated” for seeking their legal right to liberty. Psychiatry cannot have it both ways; liberty is too valuable to be denied like this. Professional ethics and regulation are the basic protections for voluntary mental health patients against abuse. However, these may not be as effective as a coherent law in protecting the rights of vulnerable people in such complex cases. – Is mise,