Senior Lecturer in Women's Mental Health, NIHR Mental Health Policy Research Unit & Section for Women's Mental Health, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, UK
Senior Research Associate, Division of Psychiatry, UCL; and Camden and Islington NHS Foundation Trust, UK
Chin-Kuo Chang
Associate Professor, Department of Health and Welfare, University of Taipei, Taiwan
Sonia Johnson
Professor of Social and Community Psychiatry, NIHR Mental Health Policy Research Unit, Division of Psychiatry, UCL; and Camden and Islington NHS Foundation Trust, UK
Matthew Hotopf
Professor of General Hospital Psychiatry, Department of Psychological Medicine, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, UK
Richard D. Hayes
Senior Lecturer, Department of Psychological Medicine, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, UK
Trends in detention under the Mental Health Act 1983 in two major London secondary mental healthcare providers were explored using patient-level data in a historical cohort study between 2007–2008 and 2016–2017. An increase in the number of detention episodes initiated per fiscal year was observed at both sites. The rise was accompanied by an increase in the number of active patients; the proportion of active patients detained per year remained relatively stable. Findings suggest that the rise in the number of detentions reflects the rise of the number of people receiving secondary mental healthcare.
