Their liberty is removed so that they can receive treatment . There are many conflicts here. The need to protect patients civil liberties and autonomy must be balanced against possible risks of harm to others or to self. Eastman points out that compulsory therapeutic interventions aimed at reducing these risks must be balanced by the resources available to mental health services. Indeed, the absence of adequate resources renders staff unable to care properly for detained patients, and thus reduce risks to self and other.
Psychiatrists play a key role in the delivery of mental health services.
They regard themselves, and are regarded by others, as leaders of the multi-disciplinary teams whose job it is to deliver care. The problem is that doctors are trained to intervene and often appear to have a compulsion to treat. As Allan Beveridge has pointed out, doctors feel that they simply must do something to help. Respect for autonomy, individual rights and civil liberties are nowhere a part of medical training. This patriarchal tendency to intervene is even more likely given the current climate surrounding community care.