The Mental Welfare Commission (MWC) is warning the number of people in Scotland detained for compulsory mental health care continues to rise, whilst the safeguards built into the process go unmet in an increasing number of cases.

New figures from the MWC show there were 6,713 detentions in 2022-23, a 1.7% rise from the year before.

This represents some 2,000 more people being detained every year for emergency, short term, and compulsory treatment orders now than a decade ago.

The commission says each year it sees more emergency detentions going ahead without the consent of a specialist social worker, as is expected under legislation.

In 2022-23, fewer than 40% of emergency detention involved a mental health officer.

This summer, Scotland’s social services regulator warned there were too few of the specialist social workers to manage an increasing workload.

The Scottish Social Service Council (SSSC) found 2,600 hours of critical work each week not able to be completed by the profession, with 30 roles across Scotland lying vacant.

The MWC is now asking for what it calls a ‘deficit in safeguarding’ to be addressed locally and nationally.

Dr Arun Chopra, medical director at the MWC, says the commission is especially concerned about the way emergency detentions in Scotland are taking place among younger people:

“Today’s report shows that while the Mental Health Act says that a doctor and a mental health officer should be responsible for these detentions, in over 60% of cases there was no mental health officer consent, so only one profession is involved in that decision.

“For young people aged under 25 – perhaps the most vulnerable of a vulnerable group of people – mental health officer consent was part of their emergency assessment and subsequent detention in only 33.8% of cases. This is not acceptable.”

The report also shows clear links between deprivation and mental ill health, with a disproportionate number of detentions affecting people from deprived areas.

More than 38% of emergency detentions affected people from the 20% most deprived areas of Scotland.

Dr Chopra says a more strategic long-term approach could come from taking forward the actions suggested  by the Scottish Mental Health Law Review report, which is currently under consideration by Ministers.

The Review, which concluded this time last year, recommended the MWC be commissioned to support services to reduce their use of force and detention in an expanded remit that would see it take charge in the scrutiny of mental health services.

Read more:  Role of Mental Health Officers ‘critical’; Staff shortage concerns in MWC reviews

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