Dr. Anne Doherty:

That is an interesting question. Overall, the heads of the Bill come to more than 300 pages. This is a large document. We have only raised a tiny number of problems with it at this meeting, but the majority of it is fine. There are many good elements in it. We have not emphasised them because one cannot emphasise all of the hundreds of good elements. The change in the management of anorexia is a positive. People detained under the Mental Health Act will now be able to get physical treatment if they need it. To date, we could not feed an adult patient with anorexia under the Mental Health Act. One would have to make him or her a ward of court by going to the High Court and through a convoluted process in which he or she would have to be declared to be of unsound mind and unable to manage his or her affairs. That is an archaic way of going about things. This part of the Bill will make a major difference to patients' lives, in that their physical healthcare and the elements of their mental healthcare that involve physical health treatments will now be given in the appropriate setting.

The main issues that we have raised are those that we believe might get in the way of people having access to healthcare and the right to prompt treatment with dignity and in the appropriate setting. If some of these changes can be included, we can develop a health service that allows people who need it to get treatment in the right place at the right time. We are speaking about people who are admitted under the Mental Health Act. We have probably spent most of this meeting talking about the thousands of people in mental health services more generally. A small proportion of those will be admitted to mental health units, and probably only 20% of those will be held under the Mental Health Act. We are speaking about a tiny proportion of a tiny proportion, but because they are so vulnerable, we need to ensure that their right to treatment and their access to treatment are promoted as much as possible.

To answer the Senator's question, the direction of travel is excellent overall, but we need to ensure that everyone can access treatment in a timely way.