Steven Richards

Steven Richards is a Director of Edge training and consultancy Ltd and has worked in the mental health field for over 20 years, both for the NHS and voluntary sector. He worked as a Mental Health Act administrator for many years at the Maudsley Hospital and was involved in writing the Maze, the Maudsley Hospital guide to the Mental Health Act. He then became an in-patient advocate for Mind working on adult acute admission and older person's ward. As an advocate he represented directly before the Court of Protection.

Steven was a Mental Health Act Reviewer with the Care Quality Commission for over 10 years, visiting mental health wards to review the care and treatment of people detained under the Act. He also worked with the CQC as a specialist advisor on the Mental Capacity Act and DoLS. He delivers training on the Mental Capacity Act and Mental Health Act across England and Wales to health and social care professionals. Steven has experience of training a wide variety of services on the MCA including local authorities, CCGs, NHS Trusts, the police, hospices and prison health services. He has spoken at a series of Health Education England conferences on the MCA at the end of life and delivered training on the draft Liberty Protection Safeguards bill to members of the House of Lords.

Steven is co-author of three books:

Working with the Mental Health Act (4th edition)

Working with the Mental Capacity Act (3rd edition)

Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) Handbook (1st edition)

He also co-produces a series of wallcharts available on Amazon: Mental Health Act, Mental Capacity Act, Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards and Consent and the Mental Capacity Act.