Abstract
There has been little published on the application of the Mental Health Act (1983) in the elderly. We therefore surveyed its use in a district old age psychiatry service covering a mixed rural and urban population with about 60,000 people over 65 years. The MHA was applied 36 times to 32 patients over a two year period. The primary diagnosis was a functional psychiatric illness in 64% patients (usually depression) and dementia in 36%. Functionally ill patients were most frequently detained on a treatment section (S3) and demented patients on an assessment section (S2). Only one patient with dementia was placed on a guardianship order. The outcome of treatment is described.
Highlights
Ill patients were most frequently detained on a treatment section (S3) and demented patients on an assessment section (52)
As part of an audit pro gramme, we carried out a retrospective survey of how the MHA was used in a district old age psychiatry service covering a mixed urban and rural population with approximately 60,000 people over 65 years
Patients placed under a section of the MHA by one of the three consultants in old age psychiatry or the senior registrar from January 1991 to December 1992 were identified, and their casenotes examined
Summary
Ill patients were most frequently detained on a treatment section (S3) and demented patients on an assessment section (52).
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