Protest against new Bill

Thousands of marchers are to take part in a mass demonstration in protest against government plans to lock up the mentally ill without charge.

Psychiatrists, nurses and mental health campaigners will take part in the march on 14 September in Whitehall Place in central London and also hold a rally in Geraldine Mary Harmsworth Park, the site of the original Bedlam psychiatric hospital.

The protest will focus public attention on the issue. The Department of Health faces mounting pressure to drop measures to detain people with mental health problems although they have committed no crime.

The Bill will face further scrutiny this week, with the publication of another damning report into mental health facilities. The report, focusing on facilities for children and adolescents, is based on a survey of 1,500 social workers. It found that 90 per cent felt there was a lack of specialist mental health social workers; more than 50 per cent thought there was a shortage of community psychiatric nurses, and roughly the same amount felt that there was a shortage of child and adolescent units.

The report, to be published on Wednesday, will coincide with the launch of the Changing Minds campaign: a joint initiative between Community Care magazine and the Mental Health Foundation. It is designed to put pressure on the Government and raise awareness of the need for improved services.