After reviewing the history of mental health legislation in England, Hamilton discusses some provisions of the new Mental Health Act that went into effect in September 1983. Among the issues pertaining to involuntary commitment covered by the act are the terminology and definition of mental illness; criteria for emergency admission, admission for assessment, and length of detention; patients' rights; mental health review tribunals; and consent to treatment. Two of the more controversial provisions are the reinstitution of a mental health commission with protective functions for detained patients, and a mandatory second opinion for certain forms of treatment. (KIE abstract)
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John R. Hamilton (1983) studied this question.