Rights and laws
One of the most common questions put to our National Advice Service is ‘what are my rights?’
Most people want to know where they stand, especially if they feel something is going wrong in relation to their care or treatment or at work. In recent years, new laws have been introduced in England and Wales which mainly improve the position of users and carers.
This includes the Human Rights Act (2000), the Disability Discrimination Act, originally passed in 1995 but since amended, and the Mental Capacity Act 2005. Further information on the Mental Capacity Act can be found at Mental Capacity Act from the Office of Public Guardian, who also published Making Advance Decisions .
The Mental Health Act 1983 covers compulsory detention in hospital (or 'sectioning'). An amendment to the Act in 2007 made some changes to the rights of those detained.
In this section, we provide some basic information about all of this legislation and also rights which have been established through the courts.
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Order 'The MH Act, essential information for parents and carers' from 
