Mental Health Act, 1959 7 & 8 Eliz. 2., Ch. 72 : [Commentary materials included].

  • Great Britain.
Date:
[1959]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Mental Health Act, 1959 7 & 8 Eliz. 2., Ch. 72 : [Commentary materials included]. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    Parts I, [IV to VII and IX 1. This memorandum deals with the bringing into operation of Parts I, IV to VII and IX of the Mental Health Act, 1959, and the associated Schedules to the Act, on Ist November, 1960. It draws attention to the main provisions affecting hospitals and local health authorities, and gives some guidance on them. Separate circulars are being or have been issued on Parts IJ, III and VIII of the Act. 2. The memorandum is for guidance only, and cannot override the statutory provisions of the Act and Regulations. Nor does it attempt to describe in full detail all their contents. The Act and Regulations themselves must be referred to when necessary. Appointed Day for Commencement 3. The Minister has decided to appoint ist November, 1960 as the date of commencement of the Mental Health Act, 1959 (other than those parts already brought into operation by previous commencement orders). On that day, the remaining provisions of the Lunacy and Mental Treatment Acts and Mental Deficiency Acts will be repealed, the Board of Control will be dissolved, the Mental Deficiency Regulations, 1948 and the Mental Treatment Rules, 1948 and all other Regulations made under Acts which are repealed will lapse, and the provisions of the new Act will come into operation. The Mental Health (Hospital and Guardianship) Regulations, 1960 4. Enclosed is a copy of the Mental Health (Hospital and Guardian- ship) Regulations, 1960 (S.J. 1960, No. 1241), which will come into force on Ist November, 1960. Guidance on the provisions of these regulations is given later in this memorandum, in which they are referred to, for sake of brevity, simply as “the Regulations”. Regulation 3 revokes the Mental Health (Approval of Medical Practitioners) Regulations, 1960, but their substance is re-enacted in Regulation 5, thus consolidating them in the new Regulations. Abolition of the Term “ Mental Deficiency ” 5S. The Mental Health Act repeals the Mental Deficiency Acts, and also removes the terms “ mental deficiency ’’, “mental defectiveness ” and “defective” from other Acts in which they now occur. In the National Health Service Act, 1946, the Sections which at present authorise the provision of services for “ persons suffering from illness or mental defectiveness”” are now amended by deleting the words “or mental defectiveness ’’, and the definition of “‘ illness ” in Section 79 is amended to include all forms of mental disorder as defined in Section 4 of the Mental Health Act. 6. The term “mental deficiency’ should therefore no longer be used in connection with hospital. or local authority services. The new Act introduces the terms “ severe subnormality ”, “ subnormality ” and “psychopathic disorder”, which are defined in Section 4. The term “mental illness” remains unaffected. These terms are used in the Act in connection with compulsory admission to hospital or