MORE than 7,000 people were detained on grounds of mental health in Scotland last year, according to new figures.

The Mental Health Welfare Commission for Scotland found that 7,109 — about half of which were emergencies — were held for compulsory treatment between between April 1 2023 and March 30 2024, a rise of 5.6 per cent, above recent trends of 4.2 per cent.

Raising serious concerns over emergency detentions, the commission noted that 35 per cent were from the 20 per cent most deprived communities compared with 10 per cent from the 20 per cent most affluent; just 35.8 per cent of detention decisions were signed off by a mental health officer.

Under the Mental Health Act, a doctor’s decision for emergency detention must have such a sign-off unless an officer is “unobtainable.”

The commission’s’s Dr Arun Chopra said: “Once again we are concerned about the way emergency detentions are taking place.

“Today’s report shows that while the expectation is that a mental health officer should be involved in these detentions, in nearly two thirds of cases there was no mental health officer consent.”

The Scottish government was asked to comment.