The process by which a person can be detained in hospital is currently referred to as ‘sectioning’. The term refers to the sections of the Mental Health Act 1983 (as amended by the Mental Health Act 2007). The main provisions are set out below:
Section 1
Any disorder or disability of the mind. A person with a learning disability does not come within the act, other than in Section 2, unless the disability is associated with abnormally aggressive or seriously irresponsible conduct. Note, also, that a dependence on alcohol or drugs is not, in itself, covered by the act.
A ‘learning disability’ means an arrested or incomplete development of the mind which significantly impairs intelligence and social functioning.
Section 2
This is for assessment and can last up to 28 days. You can be forced to take medication. Whether you are allowed any time off the ward is up to your doctor. You must apply within the first 14 days if you want a tribunal. Your doctor can discharge you at any time.
Section 3
This lasts for up to 6 months and is for treatment which can be given against your will. You can make one application to the tribunal in this period. If your doctor wants to keep you in hospital after 6 months, your detention under section 3 can be renewed for another 6 months. After that, any renewals will be for 12-month periods. Each renewal gives you a fresh right to a tribunal. Leave off the ward is at your doctor's discretion, who can discharge you at any time.
Section 7 – Guardianship
Under guardianship, you will be told where to live by your guardian, who is usually an officer of the local authority. Such an order would be made because it is considered to be in the interests of your welfare. You can apply for a tribunal in the first and second 6 months and then every 12 months thereafter. You cannot be forced to take medication, nor can you be deprived of your liberty.
Section 37
You will have been sent to hospital by a court. You can be forced to have treatment. In the first 6 months, you cannot have any tribunal, but your detention is similar to section 3 above.
Section 37/41
If you have been sent to the hospital under Section 37 but there are also Section 41 restrictions, it means that your doctor cannot give you leave or discharge you without the consent of the Minister of Justice. If a Tribunal discharges you, it could impose conditions.
Community Treatment Orders (CTO)
This may follow discharge from detention under section 3 or section 37. There will be conditions to comply with to attend appointments with your treating team and usually to take medication and where to live. You cannot be forced to take medication, but the risk is that you may be recalled to hospital and be forced to take it there.
On recall, you can be kept for 72 hours but any longer would involve revocation of the CTO, so you would be placed back on section 3 or section 37. You can appeal to the tribunal against a CTO.
S.17 leave
This is the power that your doctor will use to grant leave while you are detained in hospital.
S117
This is a reference to aftercare that you are entitled to if you have been detained under section 3 or section 37. There is a positive obligation on the local authority to provide aftercare services until they are no longer needed.
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