Mental health care is the only part of health care where patients can be treated under compulsion, and necessarily there are very clear legal requirements on hospitals and the other services involved - primarily local authority social services.
The Commission was established under the Mental Health Act 1983 and consisted of some 100 members (Commissioners), including laypersons, lawyers, doctors, nurses, social workers, psychologists and other specialists.
[3] The Care Quality Commission began operating on 1 April 2009[4] as a non-departmental public body.
Its concern was primarily the legality of detention and the protection of individuals' human rights.
In addition to a visiting programme,[5] the Commission provided important safeguards to patients who lack capacity or refuse to consent to treatment, through the Second Opinion Appointed Doctor Service.