There were a total of 45,248 admissions and detentions under the Mental Health Act in 2010/11 and a total of 3834 uses of community treatment orders (CTOs) in the NHS and independent sector, according to the annual report of the Care Quality Commission (www.cqc.org.uk). 

The number of people subject to a CTO increased by 29 per cent so that, overall, the number of people subject to the Act increased by 5 per cent to 20938 by 31 March 2011. Despite some examples of good practice, the CQC says there is still ‘significant scope for improvement’ in some hospitals in obtaining consent to treatment. It recommends that providers ensure that staff take refresher courses on consent to treatment, with training provided in a range of formats, and assessment in revalidation and appraisal programmes.