View source for New definition of medical treatment

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The old definition in [[s145]] was:

:"medical treatment" includes nursing, and also includes care, habilitation and rehabilitation under medical supervision;

From 3/11/08, under the [[MHA 2007]] changes, s145 states that:

:"medical treatment" includes nursing, [psychological intervention and specialist mental health habilitation, rehabilitation and care (but see also subsection (4) below)

Subsection (4) states:

:Any reference in this Act to medical treatment, in relation to mental disorder, shall be construed as a reference to medical treatment the purpose of which is to alleviate, or prevent a worsening of, the disorder or one or more of its symptoms or manifestations.

There are two main effects of this change:

# Medical treatment no longer must be given under medical supervision. See also [[Responsible Clinician replaces Responsible Medical Officer]]
# The effect of the abolition of the "[[treatability test]]" is diminished by subsection (4). See also [[Appropriate treatment test replaces treatability test and applies to all patients under long-term detention]]

==Extract from Explanatory Notes==
'''Section 7: Change in definition of "medical treatment" '''

38. Subsection (1) of section 7 amends the definition of medical treatment in section 145(1) 
to read:   
:"medical treatment" includes nursing, psychological intervention and specialist mental health habilitation, rehabilitation and care (but see also subsection (4) below)". 

39. Accordingly, the definition covers medical treatment in its normal sense as well as the 
other forms of treatment mentioned.         Practical examples of psychological interventions
include cognitive therapy, behaviour therapy and counselling.                "Habilitation" and
"rehabilitation" are used in practice to describe the use of specialised services provided by 
professional staff, including nurses, psychologists, therapists and social workers, which are 
designed to improve or modify patients' physical and mental abilities and social functioning.  
Such services can, for example, include helping patients learn to eat by themselves or to 
communicate for the first time, or preparing them for a return to normal community living.  
The distinction between habilitation and rehabilitation depends in practice on the extent of 
patients' existing abilities  "rehabilitation" is appropriate only where the patients are
relearning skills or abilities they have had before. 

40. Subsection (2) inserts a new subsection (4) in section 145 of the 1983 Act (interpretation) 
to provide that references in the 1983 Act to medical treatment for mental disorder mean 
medical treatment the purpose of which is to alleviate, or prevent a worsening of, the disorder 
or one or more of its symptoms or manifestations.  This applies to all references in the 1983 
Act to medical treatment in relation to mental disorder, including references to appropriate 
medical treatment to be inserted by sections 4 to 6 above.   

==Commencement==
{{mha change info|3/11/08|7|7|[[s145]]}}

==Summary of effect of amendments in Chapter 1 of Part 1==
{{:Summary of effect of amendments in Chapter 1 of Part 1}}

==Resources==

[[Mental Health Act 2007 Explanatory Notes]] - page 8

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