Mental Health Act 1959
E608557
The Mental Health Act 1959 was a landmark UK law that modernized mental health care by shifting from custodial asylum-based treatment toward community care and greater legal safeguards for people with mental disorders.
All labels observed (1)
| Label | Occurrences |
|---|---|
| Mental Health Act 1959 canonical | 1 |
Statements (47)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom
ⓘ
mental health law ⓘ |
| affectedInstitutionType |
local authority mental health services
ⓘ
mental asylums ⓘ psychiatric hospitals ⓘ |
| appliesTo | people with mental disorder in England and Wales ⓘ |
| country | United Kingdom ⓘ |
| emphasized |
informal treatment over compulsory detention
ⓘ
medical model of mental disorder ⓘ |
| historicalSignificance |
first major overhaul of UK mental health law in the 20th century
ⓘ
marked a move away from the language of lunacy and mental deficiency ⓘ |
| influenced | development of community mental health services in the UK ⓘ |
| influencedBy | post-war social policy reforms in the UK ⓘ |
| inForceFrom | 1960 ⓘ |
| introducedConcept |
greater role for health services in compulsory admission
ⓘ
informal admission to psychiatric hospitals ⓘ redefinition of mental disorder categories ⓘ reduction of the role of the courts in committal ⓘ voluntary treatment for mental disorder ⓘ |
| jurisdiction | England and Wales ⓘ |
| keyTheme |
civil liberties of psychiatric patients
ⓘ
deinstitutionalisation ⓘ integration of mental health into the National Health Service ⓘ |
| legalArea |
health law
ⓘ
human rights law ⓘ mental health law ⓘ |
| longTitle | An Act to repeal and replace the Lunacy and Mental Treatment Acts 1890 to 1930 and the Mental Deficiency Acts 1913 to 1938, and to make further provision with respect to the treatment and care of mentally disordered persons and with respect to their property and affairs; and for purposes connected therewith ⓘ |
| parliament | Parliament of the United Kingdom NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| policyShift |
from asylum-based care to hospital and community care
ⓘ
from custodial care to treatment and rehabilitation ⓘ |
| providedFor |
compulsory admission for assessment
ⓘ
compulsory admission for treatment ⓘ guardianship for some mentally disordered persons ⓘ management of property and affairs of certain patients ⓘ |
| purpose |
to modernize mental health law in England and Wales
ⓘ
to provide legal safeguards for people with mental disorders ⓘ to shift mental health care from institutional asylums toward community-based services ⓘ |
| region |
England
ⓘ
Wales ⓘ |
| repealedStatute |
Lunacy Act 1890
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Mental Deficiency Acts 1913–1938 NERFINISHED ⓘ Mental Treatment Act 1930 NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| replacedBy | Mental Health Act 1983 NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| royalAssentDate | 1959-07-29 ⓘ |
| shortTitle | Mental Health Act 1959 NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| status | largely repealed ⓘ |
| yearEnacted | 1959 ⓘ |
Referenced by (1)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.