Hundreds of mental health detentions in Derbyshire

The Law Society said planned reform of the Act must happen "sooner rather than later" after more than 50,000 people were detained in England in the year to March. Figures provided by NHS Digital show at least 745 detentions were carried out across the former NHS Derby and Derbyshire CCG area in 2021-22.

That was a detention rate of 72 per 100,000 people over the year. The NHS cautioned some figures are an undercount as a handful of organisations did not submit adequate data. Around 53,340 new detentions under the Mental Health Act were recorded across England last year – an estimated 6% decrease compared to 2020-21. Of those, 34,840 saw the person restrained on being admitted to hospital.

Nick Emmerson, vice president of the Law Society of England and Wales, said: "These statistics show why reforming the Mental Health Act must be a priority for the Government. The current system means there is a risk that compulsory detention and treatment is used too often and that patients do not have enough involvement in decisions about their care.

The Government's white paper on mental health reform, published in 2021, set out proposals to raise the threshold for detention and allow patients to have more autonomy over their treatment, as well as tackle disparities faced by people from black and minority ethnic backgrounds.

Last year, the national detention rate for black people stood at 342 per 100,000 population – more than four times as high as the rate for white people (72). Paul Spencer, at Mind, said he was "extremely concerned" by the figures.

A Government spokesperson said the decrease in detentions is a "testament to the positive steps" it has taken to support people with serious mental health issues. They added: “However we recognise there is still work to do – we remain committed to ending the unequal treatment of people from black and other ethnic minority backgrounds with mental illness.

“Our draft Mental Health Bill is currently going through pre-legislative scrutiny with proposals to ensure anyone in a mental health crisis is treated with dignity and respect, and given greater control over their treatment."