Mental Health Act 1983

The Mental Health Act 1983 covers the reception, care and treatment of mentally disordered people, the management of their property and other related matters. In particular, it provides the legislation by which people suffering from a mental disorder can be detained in hospital and have their disorder assessed or treated against their wishes, unofficially known as ‘sectioning’.

The Mental Health Act 1983 has been amended by the Mental Health Act 2007.

These are a few of the main changes:

• definition of mental disorder: references to categories of disorder have been abolished, so that a single definition applies throughout the Act;

• criteria for detention: a new ‘appropriate medical treatment’ test has been introduced, which will apply to all the longer-term powers of detention. As a result, it will not be possible for patients to be compulsorily detained or their detention continued unless medical treatment, appropriate to the patient’s mental disorder and all other circumstances of the case, is available to that patient. At the same time, the so-called ‘treatability test’ will be abolished;

• professional roles: the group of practitioners who can take on the functions currently performed by the approved social worker and responsible medical officer, has been broadened;

• nearest relative: patients have the right to make an application to the county court to displace their nearest relative and enables county courts to displace a nearest relative who it thinks is not suitable to act as such;

• nearest relative: the provisions for determining the nearest relative have been amended to include civil partners amongst the list of relatives from;

• age-appropriate services: hospital managers must ensure that patients aged under 18 admitted to hospital for mental disorder are accommodated in an environment that is suitable for their age (subject to their needs). This is on course to be implemented in April 2010.