Force-feeding: Implications for the Mental Health Act 1983 and Human Rights Act 1998

Abstract

In recent years the force-feeding of patients detained under the Mental Health Act 1983 (MHA) has received authority through mental health case law. The case involving Ian Brady, one of the infamous 'Moors Murderers', at the Court of Appeal in March 2000 provides an up-to-date extensive overview of established case law in this complex area of mental health law. Being detained, Brady was treated with force-feeding via a naso-gastric tube under the auspices of section 63 of the MHA, a treatment that did not need consent. The case provides an understanding that can be applied to the clinical setting. It also illustrates how the Human Rights Act 1998 (HRA), which must now be considered in all law cases in the UK, will potentially be used in challenges against the current MHA. Understanding the HRA,and how it may apply to clinical management, will increasingly be necessary as more challenges are brought at the European Court of Human Rights.