BMHS welcomes publication of statutory guidance for police forces in England and Wales about how to comply with the requirements of the Mental Health Units (Use of Force) Act to better protect patients in mental health settings over the inappropriate use of force.
Seni’s Law is named after Olaseni Lewis, a man from Croydon in London who died aged 23 soon after being restrained by 11 police officers while in a mental health hospital.
Patients in mental health settings will be better protected from inappropriate use of force. This important legislation will protect patients and workforce by providing a much-needed drive for improved record-keeping and reporting of data on the use of force, the quality of staff training and the way in which investigations are carried out.
This is a big step towards making mental health hospitals a safer place for patients. This is because mental health units now have to take action to reduce the use of force against their patients. This includes providing better training for staff and making sure the police wear body cameras when they’re called to a mental health unit. Both changes will make a huge difference to increasing transparency and accountability about the use of force in these settings.
We are thankful to everyone who campaigned and to those who worked with BMHS , we will continue to speak out against this issue until we see changes on the ground, and we see the end of racial discrimination within mental health units.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/mental-health-units-use-of-force-act-2018
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