A new Mental Health Bill for England and Wales has been promised in 2006. The Government's plans for that Bill to date have provoked widespread opposition. One of the Government's claims has been that criticism is restricted to “stakeholders who represent health and social care professionals and service users”, not “the general public themselves”.

We think this is an unfair assessment of the breadth of opposition to the Government’s proposals. People in all walks of life care about the treatment of those with mental illness, just as almost everyone knows someone who suffers from a mental disorder. We can all recognise the potential damage caused by introducing legislation which is unworkable and unethical, and which does nothing to address the real issues of racial inequality and stigma in the system.

In order to show opposition to the Mental Health Bill, we need to enlist as much support as possible. We would like to see a list of signatories that stretches across all professions and all areas of the country, which sends a message to the Government that cannot be ignored.

If you would like to sign the petition below, to support our campaign for a better Mental Health Act, please send an email with your name, occupation and town/county of residence to Anna Bird, coordinator of the Mental Health Alliance (anna.bird@scmh.org.uk), or send to Anna Bird, Mental Health Alliance, c/o SCMH, 134-138 Borough High Street, London SE1 1LB. We will hand the petition to the Government in 2006 as part of our ongoing campaign on the Bill.

If you would like more information about the Mental Health Alliance’s members and our opposition to the Bill, please see the attached briefing, or check our website- www.mentalhealthalliance.org.uk

Please forward this to fellow students, friends and colleagues and encourage as many people as possible to help our campaign.

To Her Majesty's Government:

We, the undersigned, call on the Government to reconsider its proposals for the reform of the Mental Health Act. We ask you to provide better support and protection for patients, their families and carers, and all those working in mental health services.

The Government is proposing an extension of the use of compulsion. They will increase the stigma attached to mental illness and as a result vulnerable people may be discouraged from asking for help when they need it.

Many people are turned away from mental health services when they first ask for help. We call on the Government to create legislation that addresses people's needs at an earlier stage, to ensure fewer people end up in crisis.

People from black and minority ethnic groups are over-represented in psychiatric hospitals. We call on the Government to do more to address this imbalance and ensure that patients receive a high quality service from the NHS regardless of race or religion.

The current proposals demand a level of staffing and financial resources that is not available. If services are compromised, patients, mental health professionals and the general public will be failed. Mental health needs the funding to ensure that safeguards are meaningful and that staff and facilities are of top quality.

The Government has claimed that the public supports their proposals. We disagree. As members of the public, we ask that the Government listens and acknowledges our opposition to its proposals on this vital piece of legislation.

Name

Occupation

Town/ County of residence

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