Mental Health Bill [HL]

I am aware that the introduction of the new AMHP role and the loss of the requirement for the individual to be employed by the local authority have led to concerns that pressure could be applied to AMHPs acting on behalf of a local authority, but employed by the same trust as doctors carrying out mental health assessments or hospital managers dealing with bed shortages. I understand the rationale outlined by the noble Earl, Lord Howe. The amendment would make it an offence for any person to offer an inducement or make a threat with a view to improperly influencing a decision made under the Act. That could include patients and their relatives acting inadvisably but in reaction to difficult circumstances. I am sure that noble Lords would agree that in most cases it would be inappropriate to criminalise that behaviour. Instead it should be dealt with sensitively on an informal basis by the professionals involved. Of course, it is a different matter if a healthcare professional or other NHS or local authority employee seeks to influence decision-making improperly through bribes or threats, but existing legislation makes such behaviour an offence. Such incentives would amount to misconduct under an employee’s contract of employment and could lead to disciplinary action. It could also amount to harassment under the Protection from Harassment Act 1997. Behaviour intended to stop an AMHP, or any other professional, from making the independent decision that they are required to make under the Act could contravene Section 129(1)(d) of the Mental Health Act. That prevents someone obstructing a person in the exercise of their functions under the Act. Clearly, there are already legal provisions that make the improper influence of a public servant an offence. In addition, such behaviour would be extremely bad practice and should be properly addressed in employers’ behavioural standards and professional codes of conduct. I note the concerns of the noble Earl about independence. We believe that training for key professionals will address the independent decision-making functions of individuals under the Act. Training for approved clinicians, who will take on the current functions of the responsible medical officer, will cover the role of the AMHP, and particularly the AMHP’s duty to make an independent decision about whether an application should be made. The training and approval criteria for AMHPs will stress the important skills required to express an independent view. The noble Earl spoke of the circumstances under which professionals, who consider whether a patient should be detained, should work in the same team. I noted his concerns. The code of practice for England will state that an AMHP should not be in a direct line-management relationship with either of the examining doctors; but to say that they must all work in separate teams goes against years of attempting to try to integrate services and could lead to unnecessary delays in assessing a patient. Social workers increasingly work within combined social services health teams. In future, teams are likely to be combined in other ways, such as in-patient and crisis services. One of the advantages of broadening the professional groups who can become AMHPs is that it will be easier for crisis resolution and home treatment services carrying out an urgent assessment to progress that to Mental Health Act assessment, without having to involve a professional from outside the team, which can cause distressing delay and repetition of assessments for patients. In addition, requiring the AMHP and examining doctors to work in different teams could make it more difficult to identify appropriate assessors, causing distressing delay for patients. I believe that the Mental Health Act and thewider legislative framework, in conjunction with professional codes of conduct and employers’ behavioural standards, are sufficient to guard against improper influence of professionals making decisions under the Act without the need for additional legislation. Therefore, I invite the noble Earl to reconsider the amendment.