Admission for treatment (section 3)
Duration of detention: up to six months, renewable for a further six months, then for one year at a time.
Application for admission: by nearest relative, or ASW in cases where the nearest relative does not object, or is displaced by County Court, or it is not 'reasonably practicable' to consult her or him.
Procedure: two doctors must confirm that
(a) the patient is suffering from one of the four specified categories of mental disorder (see above) of a nature or degree that makes it appropriate for her or him to receive medical treatment in hospital; and
(b) if the patient is suffering from a psychopathic disorder or mental impairment, such treatment is likely to 'alleviate or prevent a deterioration' of her or his condition; and
(c) it is necessary for her or his own health or safety, or for the protection of others that she or he receives such treatment and it cannot be provided unless she or he is detained under this section.
Renewal: under section 20, the RMO can renew a section 3 detention if the original criteria still apply and treatment is likely to 'alleviate or prevent a deterioration' of the patient's condition. In cases where the patient is suffering from mental illness or severe mental impairment, but treatment is not likely to alleviate or prevent a deterioration of her or his condition, detention may still be renewed, if she or he is unlikely to be able to care for her or himself, to obtain the care she or he needs or to guard her or himself against serious exploitation.
Discharge: by any of the following
RMO
hospital managers
the nearest relative, who must give 72 hours notice. If the RMO prevents the nearest relative discharging the patient, by making a report to the hospital managers, the nearest relative can apply to a MHRT within 28 days
MHRT. A patient can apply to a tribunal once during the first six months of his detention, once during the second six months and then once during each period of one year. If the patient does not apply in the first six months of detention, her or his case will be referred, automatically, to the MHRT. After that, the case
is automatically referred when a period of three years has passed since a tribunal last considered it (one year, if the patient is under 16).