Personality disorder programme No longer a diagnosis of exclusion

This annual publication summarises information about people detained under the 1983 Mental Health Act in NHS facilities, including high security psychiatric hospitals, and independent hospitals. A new table has been added this year which provides details of changes in legal status for patients in independent hospitals (Table 7b).

Download the reports

• Inpatients formally detained in hospitals under the Mental Health Act 1983 and other legislation: 1997-98 to 2007-08 bulletin (0.19MB)
• In-patients formally detained in hospitals under the Mental Health Act 1983 and other legislation: 1997-98 to 2007-08 pre-release access list (0.02MB)

The following summary information is from the NHS Information Centre website.

Key facts

• the number of detentions under the Act rose to 47,600 in 2007-08 from 46,500 in 2006-07. Formal admissions rose to 28,100 in 2007-08 from 27,700 in 2006-07
• 93 per cent of all formal admissions in 2007-08 were to NHS hospitals. This compares with 92 per cent in 2006-07
• in 2007-08 there were 19,500 detentions after informal admission to hospital, of which 2 per cent took place in an independent hospital. This compares with 18,800 in 2006-07
• the number of Place of Safety Orders involving assessment in hospital increased by 17 per cent from 6,400 in 2006-07 to 7,500 in 2007-08. This followed a 8 per cent rise in 2006-07 and an 16 per cent rise in 2005-06
• in 2007-08, 71 per cent of all place of safety orders in NHS facilities ended in an informal status and this represents a drop from 74 per cent in 2006-07
• court and prison disposals were 1,917 in 2007-08, having risen 3.3 per cent compared to 2006-07 (1,855)
• at 31 March 2008, there were 15,200 patients detained in hospital, of which 12,300 were in NHS facilities and 2,900 in independent hospitals. The number in independent hospitals shows a decrease of 6 per cent from 2006-07.