Mandate Family Evidence be Crucial in all Mental Health Act Assessments — 8 signatures. Status: rejected.
We need MHA professionals to prioritise family evidence over brief patient assessments that often accept masked symptom denial. Systemic negligence invalidates years of family reports, risking lives. We must recognise that the highest form of suffering is often hidden.
This systemic failure is based on miseducation. Repeatedly, patients successfully mask severe mental illness (like schizophrenia) for an hour of assessment. This single denial then invalidates decades of family reports. This failure risks lives. Patient gets sectioned only after police intervene due to public disturbance; professionals ignore family reports hours before. We need a system prioritising family insight and recognising that the highest form of suffering is often hidden.
View this petition on the official UK Parliament website