Published: 20/10/2005 Volume 115 No. 5978 Page 25
The number of people with mental health problems who will be placed on communitybased treatment orders if the draft Mental Health Bill becomes law is likely to have been underestimated by the government, a report published by the King's Fund has found.
The report says that over the next 10-15 years the number of people with mental health problems living in the community in England and Wales under community-based treatment orders may reach 13,000.
The Department of Health estimated the figure at around 1,400.
The report also suggests there is likely to be a gradual year-on-year increase in the number of people on the orders.
Resource pressures on services and tribunals, which will be needed to authorise compulsory treatment, will act as a significant brake on the use of community orders.
King's Fund chief executive Niall Dixon said: 'Community-based treatment orders may benefit some people, and there is evidence of support for them from professionals and patients. However, I do not believe we are currently able to reach a definitive conclusion as to whether or not they would be beneficial in England and Wales. The NHS will need to be prepared to deal with the extra demands.' -www. kingsfund. org. uk/ news/press_releases/ number_of_people. html
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