An influential British lawmaker has denounced detention of mentally ill youths in police cells, pledging an end to the “scandal.”
The under-18s undergoing a mental health crisis in England are taken into police cells, a situation that is “wholly unacceptable,” said Sarah Wollaston, the chair of the Commons health select committee, on Sunday.
“It should be unthinkable for someone who’s having an acute mental health crisis to be seen in a police cell. That’s inexcusable, but it’s happening… That’s wholly unacceptable for an adult, much less for a child,” Wollaston said.
Those detained under section 136 of the Mental Health Act 1983, referring to the mentally disturbed, should be taken to a “place of safety.”
“We won’t have true parity of esteem unless we end the scandal of section 136 assessments,” said the British MP.
In the years 2012 and 2013, the number of adults or children assessed under section 136 amounts to 21,814, out of which 7,761 cases involved police cells, according to the Care Quality Commission (CQC), tasked with regulating and inspecting health and social care services in England.
“It’s disgraceful that so many people, especially children and young people, are being held in police cells under section 136. If you’re experiencing a mental health crisis, you should be brought to a ‘place of safety’ in a health facility. A police cell should only be used as an absolute last resort,” said Victoria Bleazard, the director of communications and campaigns at the charity Rethink Mental Illness.
Many Britons suffering from a mental health crisis have to wait for many years for treatment, Bleazard noted.
NT/MAM/AS
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