Social Work Theory & Practice - Essay Example

The concern of the State to utilize medical facilities to control bad behaviour (in the absence of formal evidence of psychosis) continued in the twentieth century (Rogers and Pilgrim, 2005). In Scotland this is a major undertaking by government. Mental health law is about securing benefits for, and protecting the rights of, people with a mental disorder. Its primary objective is to make sure people with a mental disorder can receive effective care and treatment (Scottish Executive, 2003). This highlights the fact that the government and its policies are geared towards the care for the mentally aberrant.

The new legislation dealing with mental health lays the foundation for government to act in dealing with those who are mentally troubled. In fact, the new legislation is Scotland establishes principles upon which government measures are to be based on. What are unique in the current law is the new mechanisms it puts into place. These new measures better empower the state in dealing with this social concern. An example of this is when the law sets out principles relating to the way in which the function must be discharged.

These require the person discharging the function to do so in a way, which involves the minimum restriction on the freedom of the patient (Scottish Executive, 2003). The current policies also clarify and refine the role and duty of government with regards to mental health. The new Mental Health law in Scotland allows for the removal to a place of safety of a person who is exposed to ill-treatment or neglect or who is unable to look after himself or his property/financial affairs. It further allows for a person to be removed from a public place to a place of safety where it is in the interests of that person or where it is necessary to protect other people (Scottish Executive, 2003).

This descriptively lays down the scenario when the state should act and for what