THE RIGHT TO KNOWLEDGE: of people with mental handicaps who are receiving mental health care

An important and major task for services is to inform service users of their rights and how to exercise them. Some of the people using the Mental Impairment Evaluation and Treatment Service, which is based in a psychiatric hospital, do so on an informal basis. Others have been admitted formally under a section of the Mental Health Act, 1983. Using a semi-structured interview schedule, it was found that service users had differing levels of knowledge about the Act, and how it affects their lives. A series of group sessions was organised, designed primarily to inform them about the Act, and about their rights in relation to Mental Health Review Tribunals. The interview schedule was used again after the sessions, when most people appeared to have gained new information. Possible improvements to the group sessions are discussed.