“Hope is being able to see there is light despite all the darkness” (Desmond Tutu)
This year my resolution is to improve support for carers and families when a relative is admitted to hospital under the Mental Health Act.
The Mental Health Act is the law in England and Wales that regulates when a person can be admitted to hospital for psychiatric treatment without their consent, usually when they are experiencing a mental health crisis. When this happens, a mental health professional will identify a family member to act as that person’s ‘nearest relative’. The Mental Health Act gives that person important rights and powers to support their relative.
We know how important it is for mental health professionals and services to recognise that family members and carers are key partners in supporting someone with a mental illness and planning their care and treatment.
“We are partners in care, not obstacles. We know our loved one better than anyone.”
(Nearest relative, Nearest Relative Resources project)
Here at the University of Bristol, in collaboration with partners at the University of Cardiff, the University of South Wales and Mind, we have developed a new online resource for nearest relatives that is freely available to improve information and support for families and carers who find themselves in this situation.
This resource has been a while in the making. For the last few years, I’ve been part of a research team looking at the experiences of family members when they are a nearest relative. The people we spoke to told us they were confused about the role and what it means, and they didn’t always know what they were supposed to do to support their relative. They also felt that staff sometimes didn’t listen to their views or give them any information about their relative.
One of the nearest relatives in our project told us:
“There was a gap between the statement of rights and responsibilities that was available to me as a nearest relative, and what I needed to know to act effectively”.
This research led to a project to co-create the online resource for nearest relatives so that we could plug this gap. From the start, our approach has focused on making sure the voices and experiences of nearest relatives are at the centre of this work. I’ve been truly inspired by their dedication, honesty and willingness to share their time and experiences with us.
Nearest relatives told us what they needed and wanted, and we worked together with them and other groups to co-create the website content as a ‘trusted go to place’ for nearest relatives to find out about the role and how to ‘act effectively’. The website was launched in November 2025 to coincide with Carers Rights Day 2025. It has lots of useful information about what the role means, and how it fits in the mental health and legal system and with other legal/caring roles. We’ve also created infographics, tools and guides on how to exercise your rights as a nearest relative, what to do when things go wrong, and leaflets for staff on the role and how it works. We’re delighted that Mind is partnering with us on this project and will be linking to the resources from the information pages on their website.
“How have we gone so long without a resource like this?”
(Carer who attended our launch event)
It’s an appropriate time to write about this resource as a new Mental Health Act was passed in December 2025 that will make some important changes to the law. Significantly, in a few years, the new Act will replace the nearest relative role with a ‘nominated person’ who, unlike the current system, will be chosen by the person experiencing a mental health crisis. The nominated person can be anyone from their social network – not just a relative – if they can carry out the role and are not disqualified from doing it. These changes are designed to give patients a stronger voice and more control over who supports them. However, if these changes are going to make a difference to the experiences of patients and those supporting them, we need to know how this new role will work on the ground, and how patients will be supported to make their choices. We also need to know how nominated persons will be supported and what information is going to be available to help them with the role.
We’ll be working closely with our project partners to update the website for nearest relatives so that it supports the nominated person role as the new law comes into effect over the next 12-18 months. It will take a few years for the new Act to be fully operational and during this period we will be working away to ensure our website continues to be a useful port of call for people who find themselves in this situation and are looking for trusted information and resources.
One of the nearest relatives in our project told us they felt as if they were going into the role “blind”. We hope the website will help nearest relatives to see a way through. Most importantly, we are resolved that it will show that carers and families are not alone, and there is support and trusted information available.
The online resource is available at https://nearestrelativeresources.bristol.ac.uk/
Judy Laing is Professor of Mental Health Law & Policy and Project Lead, University of Bristol
