Related Subjects:
|Psychiatric Emergencies
|Depression
|Mania
|Schizophrenia
|Suicide
|Panic Disorder
|Acute Psychosis
|General Anxiety Disorder
|Obsessive-Compulsive disorder
|Wernicke Korsakoff Syndrome
|Medically Unexplained symptoms
|Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
|Personality Disorders
|Eating Disorders
⚖️ Mental Health Act 1983 (Amended 2007)
- Purpose: Legal framework for assessment, detention, treatment, and patient rights in mental health care.
- Key Sections:
- 📄 Section 2: Detention up to 28 days for assessment. Requires 2 doctors + AMHP (Approved Mental Health Professional).
- 💊 Section 3: Detention for treatment, up to 6 months (renewable). Requires 2 medical recommendations.
- 🚨 Section 4: Emergency detention up to 72h with 1 doctor when second not available.
- 🏥 Section 5(2): Allows a doctor to hold an inpatient up to 72h.
Section 5(4): Nurse’s holding power up to 6h.
- 🚪 Section 17: Leave of absence for detained patients.
- 🏠 Section 135: Police + warrant may enter property to remove someone at risk to a place of safety.
- 🚓 Section 136: Police may remove from a public place to a place of safety if in crisis.
- Safeguards: Right to Independent Mental Health Advocate (IMHA) + appeal to Mental Health Tribunal.
🧩 Mental Capacity Act 2005
- Purpose: Protects and empowers people lacking capacity for specific decisions.
- Key Principles:
- ✔️ Presumption of capacity unless proven otherwise.
- 🤔 Right to make unwise decisions.
- ❤️ Best interests must guide proxy decisions.
- 🔓 Least restrictive option always preferred.
- Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS): Protects people in care homes/hospitals whose liberty is restricted for safety.
(⚠️ To be replaced by Liberty Protection Safeguards under new legislation.)
👵 Care Act 2014
- Purpose: Local authority duty to promote adult well-being & support carers.
- Key Provisions:
- 📝 Eligibility criteria: Needs-based access to funded care.
- 🌱 Well-being principle: Independence, dignity, quality of life central to care planning.
- 🛡️ Safeguarding Adults: Duty to protect adults at risk of abuse/neglect.
- 🤝 Carers’ rights: Assessment and support entitlements.
⚖️ Equality Act 2010
- Purpose: Prevents discrimination across protected characteristics.
- Mental Health relevance:
- 🧠 Mental illness qualifies as a disability if long-term/substantial impact.
- 🏢 Employers, schools, services must make reasonable adjustments.
📜 Human Rights Act 1998
- Purpose: Incorporates ECHR into UK law.
- Mental Health relevance:
- 🧍 Right to life (Article 2).
- 🚫 Freedom from inhuman/degrading treatment (Article 3).
- 🔒 Right to liberty (Article 5) – safeguards around detention.
- ⚖️ Right to fair trial (Article 6) – tribunal hearings.
👶 Children Act 1989 & 2004
- Purpose: Framework for protecting children’s welfare.
- Key Provisions:
- 👶 Welfare principle: Child’s welfare is paramount.
- 🛡️ Protection: Duty to safeguard children from harm/neglect.
- 👨👩👧 Parental responsibility: Recognises and supports parent/caregiver role.
