Police officers used ‘unnecessary force’ on woman – BBC News
‘Two police officers committed gross misconduct by using “unnecessary force” on a vulnerable woman in Bristol, a panel has found.’
BBC News, 17th August 2024
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Category: mental health
Claimant wins High Court challenge to council over failure to secure suitable accommodation, conduct lawful assessment of children – Local Government Lawyer
‘The London Borough of Bexley failed to secure suitable accommodation for claimant ZRR in breach of section 190 of the Housing Act 1996 and failed to conduct a lawful needs assessment of her children under section 17 of the Children Act 1989, the High Court has found.’
Local Government Lawyer, 15th August 2024
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
Key questions that remain about Nottingham killer’s care – BBC News
‘The critical report into the mental healthcare given to Valdo Calocane – a paranoid schizophrenic who fatally stabbed three people in Nottingham last year – is damning.’
BBC News, 14th August 2024
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Nottingham attacks: series of errors led to Valdo Calocane being discharged, review finds – The Guardian
‘A “series of errors and misjudgments” in Valdo Calocane’s mental health care led to him being discharged, despite repeatedly not taking medication and showing signs of aggression, months before he killed three people in Nottingham, a report says.’
The Guardian, 13th August 2024
Source: www.theguardian.com
Doctor warned Valdo Calocane could kill, three years before Nottingham stabbings – The Guardian
‘Family share medical records of Calocane’s mental illness with BBC that they say show missed opportunities to prevent attacks.’
The Guardian, 12th August 2024
Source: www.theguardian.com
Alerter by Tim Green KC & Georgina Pein – How to engage A2 ECHR in Healthcare Inquests – Henderson Chambers
‘This article provides practitioners with an overview of the law relating to inquests which engage Article 2 ECHR in the context of deaths arising from shortcomings in healthcare. It is intended to provide a pithy summary on the legal complexities in domestic and European case law and it offers some general advice on how best to engage Article 2 arguments.’
Henderson Chamber, 17th July 2024
Source: www.hendersonchambers.co.uk
Watchdog bans Gemma Collins advert promoting headset to treat depression – The Guardian
‘An Instagram post by Gemma Collins in which she promoted wearing a headset to fight depression instead of seeking professional medical advice and treatment has been banned by the UK advertising watchdog.’
The Guardian, 7th August 2024
Source: www.theguardian.com
Man still in jail 20 years after laptop robbery – BBC News
‘A prisoner who has served almost five times his original sentence for a laptop robbery still has no prospect of being released.’
BBC News, 3rd August 2024
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Teachers’ regulator in England investigated after claims it has left teachers in distress – The Guardian
‘The organisation responsible for regulating teachers in England is being investigated by the Department for Education after allegations of misconduct by staff, and teachers left in distress after lengthy inquiries.’
The Guardian, 3rd August 2024
Source: www.theguardian.com
Towards a rights-based approach for disabled women’s access to abortion – Medical Law Review
‘This article adds to the still limited scholarship on the impact of abortion laws and policies on people with disabilities and those with diminished capacity who seek abortion. We argue that neither the legal nor policy framework currently operating in England and Wales adequately incorporates and protects the rights of people with disabilities or those experiencing mental ill-health. Rather, the law and policy framework jeopardizes their reproductive agency. We argue that greater attention to and incorporation of standards contained within the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (including the sources produced by its Committee) and implementation of guidelines produced by the World Health Organization would result in a rights-affirming framework that supports disabled women’s reproductive agency, enhances their effective enjoyment of human rights, and supports them in accessing quality abortion care.’
Medical Law Review, 17th July 2024
Source: academic.oup.com
A judicial reminder of the hard edges of the treatment regime under the MHA 1983 – Mental Capacity Law and Policy
‘North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust & Anor v KAG & Ors [2024] EWCOP 38 (T3) is a case confirming the hard-edged nature of s.63 Mental Health Act 1983. It concerned a woman, KAG, who developed severe depression and in consequence was not eating or drinking. For extremely complicated reasons, including potentially crossed wires as to what the Official Solicitor’s position, the case ultimately came before Victoria Butler-Cole KC (sitting as a Deputy Tier 3 judge), who was asked to declare that it was lawful for a PEG to be inserted to provide KAG with clinically assisted nutrition and hydration.’
Mental Capacity Law and Policy, 27th July 2024
Violence, self-harm and drugs: Shock new figures lay bare crisis facing Britain’s prisons – The Independent
‘Violence and self-harm in Britain’s prisons is soaring while drugs are readily available with almost a quarter of jails overcrowded, grim new data has revealed.’
The Independent, 25th July 2024
Source: www.independent.co.uk
Albanian man taken from UK psychiatric ward to deportation flight – report – The Guardian
‘An Albanian man who was being held in a secure psychiatric unit was taken directly from his hospital bed to a Home Office deportation flight, a report has revealed.’
The Guardian, 25th July 2024
Source: www.theguardian.com
Right Care, Right Person before the courts – Mental Capacity Law and Policy
‘It is perhaps slightly surprising that Right Care, Right Person should make its first reported appearance in case-law in the context of an extradition challenge, but in Platt v The High Court of the Republic of Ireland [2024] EWHC 1821 (Admin), it featured in the challenge to the decision to extradite the claimant to Ireland.’
Mental Capacity Law and Policy, 23rd July 2024
In depth: How law firms can save stressed staff from themselves – Law Society’s Gazette
‘As LawCare highlights cases of burnout involving lawyers being available 24/7 and checking emails outside work, some firms have hired external resource managers to save staff from themselves.’
Law Society's Gazette, 16th July 2024
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
Inquiry into headteacher’s suicide says ‘macho culture’ of inspections must end – The Guardian
‘An independent inquiry into the death of the Reading headteacher Ruth Perry has called for an end to England’s “macho culture” of inspections and school accountability.’
The Guardian, 12th July 2024
Source: www.theguardian.com
Mental health tragedy lessons not learned – family – BBC News
‘The son-in-law of an 88-year-old man who was killed by a woman with schizophrenia at a supermarket says too many people are being harmed due to a lack of proper risk assessments of mental health patients.’
BBC News, 11th July 2024
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Multiple homicide: a descriptive study of serial homicide and mass murder in England and Wales – The Journal of Forensic Psychiatry & Psychology
‘Homicide involving multiple victims is relatively rare in England and Wales. When it does occur, mental illness is assumed to have played a significant role. However, reliable evidence to support this is often lacking. We aimed to describe the prevalence of multiple homicide and its subgroups: serial murder, mass murder and familicide and the presence of mental disorder. Data were obtained from the Home Office, HM Court Service, the Police National Computer and NHS Trusts. In England and Wales 470 killed multiple victims between 1997 and 2018. Most did not have evidence of mental health symptoms at the time of offence (85%) or a recorded history of mental disorder (69%). Mental disorder was also not found in most serial homicides (90%), mass murders (94%), or familicides (70%). A tenth of all multiple homicide perpetrators had been under the care of mental health services a year before the incident. This finding challenges commonly held views about mental disorders and the stigma that is perpetuated when multiple-victim homicides occur. Low prevalence and low levels of contact with mental health services make preventing multiple homicide difficult. Reducing violence across society by adopting a multi-agency public health approach is recommended.’
The Journal of Forensic Psychiatry & Psychology, 5th July 2024
Source: www.tandfonline.com
‘Significant failing’ in care of Royal Marines recruit who took his own life – The Guardian
‘There was a “significant failing” in the care of a teenage Royal Marines recruit who took his own life after struggling on a demanding training course, a coroner has concluded.’
The Guardian, 3rd July 2024
Source: www.theguardian.com
