Mental Health Bill [HL]

Debate between Baroness Merron and Baroness Parminter

Committee stage
Monday 24th February 2025 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Merron (Lab)]

My Lords, I am grateful to the noble Baroness, Lady Parminter, for bringing Amendment 132 to your Lordships’ Committee, for raising this important issue, for sharing at Second Reading, as the noble Lord, Lord Kamall, said, her personal experience of her daughter’s treatment and for sharing her overall experience of the provision of services today. The noble Baroness, Lady Browning, made the important point about different conditions needing different provision and support. That was amplified by the noble and learned Baroness, Lady Butler-Sloss, and the noble Lord.

Eating disorders are of course serious mental health challenges, and it is vital that those with them can access effective help quickly. We will continue to work closely with NHS England to improve access to the right and timely care and treatment for those with an eating disorder.

The purpose of Section 140 is to ensure that approved mental health professionals are aware of the services available to help them to locate hospital beds in special cases. The intention of the amendment is to extend the duty on health authorities to notify local authorities of arrangements for urgent cases and under-18s to include specialist eating disorder units.

Section 140 applies to arrangements for people who need in-patient treatment in a hospital. That includes specialist eating disorder units where they provide in-patient treatment in a hospital setting and are appropriate for someone to be detained in. Therefore, while I understand the points being made, it is not necessary to specify that Section 140 applies to specialist eating disorder units. I hope the noble Baroness will feel able to withdraw her amendment.

[Baroness Parminter (LD)]

My Lords, I am grateful to Members around the Committee who have shared my concerns about the need for proper provision for people with eating disorders. The noble Baroness, Lady Browning, rightly identified that there is a need for mental health provision to focus on the particular illnesses and to treat each appropriately.

I knew that my amendment would not be accepted; I was just desperate to find some way to raise this important issue, but I am grateful that my poor attempt has at least allowed for a debate in Committee and allowed me to share with Members a bit more about what it actually means if you are in a specialist eating disorder unit for a very long time. I would still love to see the words in the Bill, because every time ICBs and others think about provision for people with mental illnesses, including eating disorders, specialist eating disorder units should be in there, but I am not going to press the point either here or in the future. I am grateful for the support around the Committee, and I will keep trying to raise the issue whenever I can. With that, I beg leave to withdraw the amendment.