Variation in requests to social services departments for assessment for compulsory psychiatric admission

Eighty-two local authority social services departments in England and Wales participated in a postal survey of their responses to psychiatric emergencies, and 52 of the authorities provided detailed information on the rates of requests made to them for assessments under the Mental Health Act, 1983. This paper reports upon the variation in the rates of requests in different types of local authorities and regions. Variations are related to the availability of approved social workers (ASWs) and the Jarman Index of social deprivation. Requests for assessment and treatment order (Sections 2 and 3) are related to a greater number of ASWs, but only in county authorities, and requests for emergency admission (Section 4) are related to greater social deprivation, but only in London. Possible explanations for these findings are considered. Requests for the use of treatment orders have increased since the Act was introduced and now stand at more than one third of all requests, whereas requests for the use of emergency orders have declined to fewer than 8% of all requests.