Section 2 Mental Health Act
Section 2 lasts for up to 28 days, and means that you are in hospital so the doctors can assess whether you have a mental disorder. Assessment includes how you react to medication. Your doctor can give you leave off the ward, if she thinks you are well enough. You can be discharged by your doctor before the end of 28 days if she thinks you are well enough. You can also apply for a Mental Health Tribunal and Hospital Managers’ Hearing to ask to be released.
Section 3 Mental Health Act
Section 3 lasts for up to 6 months, but can be renewed if the doctor thinks you are still not well enough to leave hospital. You can be discharged as soon as the doctor thinks you are well enough. You can also apply for a Mental Health Tribunal and Hospital Managers’ hearing to ask to be released. You are eligible for after-care services under section 117, which may include accommodation and support from psychiatric and other services. You could be discharged onto a Community Treatment Order, which means there may be conditions you would have to live under in the community.
Notional section 37 Mental Health Act
Notional section 37 starts if you are in hospital when your prison sentence ends. It lasts for up to 6 months, but can be renewed if the doctor thinks you are still not well enough to leave hospital. But also you can be discharged as soon as the doctor thinks you are well enough. You can also apply for a Mental Health Tribunal and Hospital Managers’ hearing to ask to be released. You are eligible for after-care services under section 117, which may include accommodation and support from psychiatric and other services. You could be discharged onto a Community Treatment Order, which means there may be conditions you would have to live under in the community.
Section 37 Mental Health Act
Section 37 is ordered by a court because they agreed with medical advice that you need treatment in hospital. It lasts for up to 6 months, but can be renewed if your doctor thinks you are still not well enough to leave hospital. But also you can be discharged as soon as the doctor thinks you are well enough. You can apply for a Mental Health Tribunal and Hospital Managers’ hearing to ask to be released in the second 6 months of your detention. You are eligible for after-care services under section 117, which may include accommodation and support from psychiatric and other services. You could be discharged onto a Community Treatment Order, which means there may be conditions you would have to live under in the community.
Sections 37/41 Mental Health Act
Sections 37/41 is ordered by a court because they agreed with medical advice that you need treatment in hospital rather than going to prison. It lasts for as long as necessary. Your doctor can only grant you leave off the ward if the Secretary of State for Justice agrees. You can apply for a Mental Health Tribunal to ask to be released in the second 6 months of your detention but the Secretary of State must agree to the discharge. You are likely only to be discharged with conditions that you must comply with in the community. You are eligible for after-care services under section 117, which may include accommodation and support from psychiatric and other services.
Section 47 Mental Health Act
Section 47 applies to you if you are serving a prison sentence and the Ministry of Justice has been told by two doctors that you need treatment for a mental disorder. You are then transferred from prison to a psychiatric hospital under this section. You can be discharged as soon as the doctor thinks you are well enough and you can apply for a Mental Health Tribunal and Hospital Managers’ hearing to ask to be released. You could be released before the end of your sentence and not return to prison, but you could also be detained in hospital after the end of your sentence. You are eligible for after-care services under section 117, which may include accommodation and support from psychiatric and other services. You could be discharged onto a Community Treatment Order, which means there may be conditions you would have to live under in the community.
Sections 47/49 Mental Health Act
Sections 47/49 has been put in place because you are serving a prison sentence and the Ministry of Justice has been told by two doctors that you need treatment for a mental disorder. You are then transferred from prison to a psychiatric hospital under this section. Your doctor can only grant you leave off the ward if the Secretary of State for Justice agrees. You could also be detained in hospital after your prison sentence ends but this would be on a notional section 37.
You can apply for a Mental Health Tribunal to ask to be released in the second 6 months of your detention but the Secretary of State must agree to the discharge. If the Tribunal thinks you no longer need treatment in hospital you could be returned to prison until the end of your sentence or you are released by the Parole Board. You are eligible for after-care services under section 117, which may include accommodation and support from psychiatric and other services.
Section 48 Mental Health Act
Section 48 applies to you if you are in prison on remand or detained at an immigration centre, and the Ministry of Justice has been told by two doctors that you need treatment for a mental disorder. You are then transferred to a psychiatric hospital under this section. You can be discharged as soon as the doctor thinks you are well enough, or if the criminal charges against you are dropped. You can also apply for a Mental Health Tribunal and Hospital Managers’ hearing to ask to be released. You are eligible for after-care services under section 117, which may include accommodation and support from psychiatric and other services.
Section 48/49 Mental Health Act
Section 48/49 has been put in place because you are on remand or detained at an immigration centre, and the Ministry of Justice has been told by two doctors that you need treatment for a mental disorder. You are then transferred to a psychiatric hospital under this section. Your doctor can only grant you leave off the ward if the Secretary of State for Justice agrees. You are then transferred from prison to a psychiatric hospital under this section. You can be discharged as soon as the doctor thinks you are well enough, or if the criminal charges against you are dropped. You can also apply for a Mental Health Tribunal and Hospital Managers’ hearing to ask to be released. You are eligible for after-care services under section 117, which may include accommodation and support from psychiatric and other services.
Section 45A Mental Health Act
Section 45A has been put in place by Crown Court instead of a prison sentence because the court has been told by two doctors that you need treatment for a mental disorder. It lasts for as long as necessary. Your doctor can only grant you leave off the ward if the Secretary of State for Justice agrees. You can apply for a Mental Health Tribunal to ask to be released in the second 6 months of your detention but the Secretary of State must agree to the discharge. You are likely only to be discharged with conditions that you must comply with in the community. You are eligible for after-care services under section 117, which may include accommodation and support from psychiatric and other services.
Recalled to hospital from Conditional Discharge
If you have been living in the community on a Conditional Discharge but you have breached those conditions or become mentally unwell you could be recalled to hospital. This means that you are now detained under sections 37/41. Your detention will last for as long as necessary. Your doctor can only grant you leave off the ward if the Secretary of State for Justice agrees. You will be automatically referred for a Mental Health Tribunal, and you can apply for a Tribunal to ask to be released in the second 6 months of your detention but the Secretary of State must agree to the discharge. You are likely only to be discharged with conditions that you must comply with in the community. You are eligible for after-care services under section 117, which may include accommodation and support from psychiatric and other services.
Extended s. 17 leave Mental Health Act
If you are on extended s. 17 leave you must be detained on section 3 but discharged from hospital. Even though you are in the community you are still detained under section 3, and your doctor can put conditions on you being in the community. If you breach those conditions or become mentally unwell you could be recalled to hospital. Your doctor can discharge you from detention under section if she thinks you are well enough. You can also apply for a Mental Health Tribunal and Hospital Managers’ hearing to ask to be released. You could be discharged onto a Community Treatment Order, which means there may be conditions you would have to live under in the community. You are eligible for after-care services under section 117, which may include accommodation and support from psychiatric and other services.
Community Treatment Order
Community Treatment Order (CTO) only comes into effect if you are already detained under section 3. This puts your detention under section 3 on ‘pause’. Your doctor can put conditions on you being in the community and if you breach those conditions or become mentally unwell you could be recalled to hospital. Your doctor can discharge you from the CTO if she thinks you are well enough. You can also apply for a Mental Health Tribunal and Hospital Managers’ hearing to ask to be released. You are eligible for after-care services under section 117, which may include accommodation and support from psychiatric and other services.
Guardianship Order
Guardianship Order means that you are living in the community but two doctors agree that you have a mental disorder that must be treated in the community; that you must live in accommodation chosen for you; and have access to social support. You can be discharged by your doctor, the guardian (usually your local authority) or by your nearest relative as soon as they think you are well enough. You can also apply for a Mental Health Tribunal and Hospital Managers’ hearing to ask to be released. You are eligible for after-care services under section 117, which may include accommodation and support from psychiatric and other services.
Contact Georga Godwin: Mental Health Solicitor Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Berkshire
Contact Georga using the online contact form or by calling 01865 596717. You can also email Georga on This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
