The number of detentions under the Act rose to 47,400 for the 12 months to March 2006, from 46,700 the previous year. Formal admissions rose to 27,400 in 2005/06 from 26,800 in 2004/05, surpassing the previous peak of 26,900 in 1998/99.

The number of prisoners in England and Wales has reached a new all-time high, just two months after Home Secretary John Reid asked judges to send only the most serious offenders to jail.

A class of drugs widely prescribed for people suffering from dementia is leading to the premature deaths of thousands of patients every year, according to research published today.

People from some black and minority ethnic groups were three times more likely than average to be admitted to mental health hospitals, results of a national census have shown.

{mosimage}It is the second year that the national ‘Count Me In’ census has shown significantly higher rates of admission and detention among some black and minority ethnic groups. The census has prompted calls for the introduction of mandatory reporting of ethnicity for all patients using mental health and learning disability services, not just those admitted to hospital.

The Count Me In Census 2006 was a joint initiative by the Healthcare Commission, the Mental Health Act Commission and the National Institute for Mental Health in England.

The census aimed to provide accurate figures on the numbers of inpatients in mental health and learning disability services in England and Wales on one day and to encourage service providers to collect and monitor data on the ethnic groups of patients.

The census is one of the three key building blocks of the government’s five-year action plan, “Delivering Race Equality in Mental Health Care”.

Gordon Brown yesterday admitted the government faced a big challenge to reach its key child poverty target but refused to pledge more money to address the problem.

Ministers are intentionally making vulnerable asylum-seekers destitute, a committee of MPs and peers has said. The Joint Committee on Human Rights called the support system a “confusing mess” which has also failed children.

An 80 year old woman died after falling 20ft from the bedroom window of her Wiltshire care home. Inspectors from the Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI) are due to visit Ashbury Lodge, a private care home in Marlborough Road, Swindon, to ensure the correct safety procedures were in place.

Over a hundred new policies based on what children have said are important to them have been suggested in a new report from the Children’s Rights Director for England.

Social Services chiefs in Leeds have received 114 complaints about home care services provided by private companies. Part of the city’s home care work is contracted out to the private sector and figures presented to councillors show that between April last year and January this year, the council received a total of 114 complaints about services provided by six companies.

The BMA has launched updated guidance on withholding and withdrawing life-prolonging treatment, to take into account the major changes for patients and doctors that will come into force when the Mental Capacity Act is implemented in England and Wales in April and October 2007.