Mental Health Services

Someone who has agreed to stay in hospital of their own free will. They are free to discharge themselves and decide whether or not to follow a treatment plan.

The mental health professional in charge of someone’s care and treatment while they are sectioned under the Mental Health Act.

Time spent off the ward. Permission for leave is granted by the Responsible Clinician. The permission can require the patient to be escorted or not, and varies in duration, frequency and venue.

Section under Mental Health Act that allows a police officer to take someone to a place of safety for assessment.

The free help and support health authorities and local social services have a duty to provide when someone has been discharged from section and hospital.

A phrase used to refer to being detained under a section of the Mental Health Act 1983.

A term used to describe the formal ending of a legal arrangement or order and a return to a previous arrangement.

Qualified human rights are rights that can legally be restricted if certain conditions are met, for example, the right to respect for private and family life, home and correspondence.

Someone who is returned to hospital either from s17 leave, a Community Treatment Order or conditional discharge.

A qualified doctor, such as a GP or psychiatrist.

An agreed place where police can take someone to be assessed. This is usually a hospital or, in an emergency, a police station.

Is a member of the hospital staff who collects and keeps section papers safe, ensures that procedures are followed, including making sure that patients receive relevant information, and arranges Tribunal hearings and managers reviews.

The First Tier Tribunal (Mental Health) is a special court dealing with appeals against the Mental Health Act 1983. The Tribunal decides whether a patient meets the criteria for section or should be discharged. It can also make recommendations about leave, transfer and treatment in the community.

Legal term for a family member who has certain responsibilities and powers when someone is detained in hospital under the Mental Health Act. Your nearest relative is determined using the following hierarchy:

– Husband, wife or civil partner
– Son or daughter
– Father or mother
– Brother or sister
– Grandparent
– Grandchild
– Uncle or aunt
– Nephew or niece

In each case, it is always the oldest of the individuals in any category that will be your nearest relative, for example, if both your parents are still alive, it will be the oldest who is named nearest relative. Likewise with any siblings, children etc. Nearest relative is not the same as a Next of Kin. A nearest relative can be displaced in certain circumstances.

The term medical treatment covers a wide range of medical and care interventions to cure, alleviate, or prevent a worsening of a medical or mental health condition or one or more of its symptoms or manifestations. This includes nursing, psychological intervention and specialist mental health habilitation (learning skills), rehabilitation (relearning skills) and care.

The Mental Capacity Act (MCA) provides a legal framework to protect and empower people with learning difficulties or who lack the mental capacity to make their own decisions where possible and, where that is not possible, to ensure that decisions made about them are done so with the person’s best interests in mind.

Any disorder or disability of the mind, including any mental health problem normally diagnosed in psychiatry and certain learning disabilities.

The Mental Health Act 1983 provides that people can be detained in hospital if they have a mental disorder that puts them or others at risk. It also provides that they can be treated against their wishes if necessary, provided certain conditions are met. This is informally known as being ‘sectioned’, which is a reference to the different sections of the Mental Health Act that provides different levels and durations of detainment depending on the person’s condition.

Financial support provided by the government-funded Legal Aid Agency that covers the cost of legal advice and representation under certain qualifying conditions. Legal aid is designed to ensure that everyone has access to legal representation and the court system, regardless of their income or wealth. Different criteria apply to the eligibility for legal aid, depending on the nature of the case and the individual’s personal financial circumstances, except for cases where someone is detailed under section, in which case legal aid is available to anyone.

Sets out the rights and freedoms that are guaranteed under the European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR). Article 5 of the Human Rights Act outlines the right to liberty and security, and the conditions that must be applied when a person is detained against their will, for example if they are sectioned under the Mental Health Act.