Mental Health Act 2007 - Explained at last ...........May 30, 2008 10 out of 10 found this review helpful
As a mental health student nurse studying for a BSc (hons) Degree, there are two areas that I continually struggle with day in and day out, the first is medication and the second is the Mental Health Act 1983, can you imagine the confusion when the Amended Mental Health Act 2007 came out. This book has been really good for me as it not only includes the full mental health act but also the amendments from 2007. also, this book includes mental capacity act. Basically, it has everything you need to help you plough through the current legislation in preparation for the 2007 act implementation in October. Details of certain mental act sections are easily located and explained. I did ponder about awarding 4 stars to this publication as a lot of the work tends to be a little wordy and could have been written in a much more basic form, but it cannot be faulted for it's content, therefore it got 5 stars. I am a degree student and found some of the chapters really hard going, but saying that, the mental health act is very difficult to read through. the book is concise and accurate and does explain a great deal about legislation background and how the amendment came about and what fuelled it's implementation. Overall this book would benefit any psychiatric student, mental health worker, approved social worker or mental health related doctors. Basically anyone who has dealings with mental health services on a professional level. as a student, i am very selective of the publications I purchase, this is one of the very very very few books that bring in the new 2007 mental health act, therefore it warranted a purchase and I am very pleased I did. It is well written, contains detailed explanations and above all, set out easily so certain information can be easily and quickly found. To keep its different sections apart it is split into 2 sections, the first is around the reform of the mental health act and the second is in regards to the mental capacity act. As it states in the book the title is a little misleading as it is really a book about two pieces of legislation, the mental health act 1983 and the mental capacity act 2005 as they have been amended by the 2007 act. Overall, a great book, well put together. I would recommend this book to anyone who is studying to be in or already in the mental health services. Paul Bowen has put together a publication that can put to bed any confusing thoughts you had around the mental health act and as I have said before, in great time as the new act comes into affect in October 2008. This book is a credit to my collection of mental health related academic literature.
