Mental Health Bill [HL]

Of course we will debate the code again on Report, and I will reflect on this debate. I hope that the noble Baroness, too, will reflect on some of the comments I have made about what I think is very clear about the status of the code, particularly the benefit of the degree of flexibility given to individual clinicians. My worry is that if we were to go down the route suggested, it would be quite damaging to individual clinicians in the exercise of their responsibilities. One point I should have made in my original response is that it will be important for us to look at the wording in the code as it applies on page 7. From my initial reading, I think it needs to better reflect the judgment we have been talking about. I shall be happy to take that matter away also. We are consulting on the draft and whether it could be made more explicit about the impact of the 2005 judgment on individual professionals. We are also looking at how we can ensure that practitioners and patients are as aware as possible of the code and its status. I hope that will help.