A community supervision order for a person with learning disabilities and severe mental health problems

Abstract

We describe how Supervised Discharge (Section 25) of the Mental Health Act 1983 was used to promote mental health care in the community for a man with mild learning disabilities and paranoid schizophrenia who has had repeated relapses and hospital admissions. The new compulsory Community Treatment Order in England and Wales introduced by the Mental Health Act 2007 is explored in comparison with Section 25 Supervised Discharge, which it has now replaced, and compared with similar legislation already introduced in Scotland. The practice implications of the new supervised community treatment orders are discussed.

Citation

Hemmings, C. and Akinsola, T. (2009), "A community supervision order for a person with learning disabilities and severe mental health problems", Advances in Mental Health and Learning Disabilities, Vol. 3 No. 1, pp. 56-60. https://doi.org/10.1108/17530180200900011