Mental Health (Hospital, Guardianship and Consent to Treatment) Regulations 1983
| Jurisdiction | UK Non-devolved |
1983 No. 893
MENTAL HEALTH
The Mental Health (Hospital, Guardianship and Consent to Treatment) Regulations 198323rdJune 1983
1stJuly 1983
30thSeptember 1983
ARRANGEMENT OF REGULATIONS
PART I
GENERAL
1. Citation and commencement
2. Interpretation
3. Documents
PART II
PROCEDURES AND RECORDS RELATING TO HOSPITAL ADMISSIONS AND GUARDIANSHIP
4. Procedure for and record of hospital admissions
5. Procedure for and acceptance of guardianship applications
6. Procedure for and record of reclassification of patients
7. Transfer from hospital to hospital or guardianship
8. Transfer from guardianship to guardianship or hospital
9. Conveyance to hospital on transfer
10. Renewal of authority for detention or guardianship
11. Removal to England and Wales
PART III
FUNCTIONS OF GUARDIANS AND NEAREST RELATIVES
12. Duties of private guardians
13. Visits of patients subject to guardianship
14. Performance of functions of nearest relative
15. Discharge by nearest relative
PART IV
CONSENT TO TREATMENT
16. Consent to treatment
PART V
CORRESPONDENCE OF PATIENTS
17. Inspection and opening of postal packets
18. Review of decisions to withhold postal packets
PART VI
TRANSITIONAL PROVISIONS AND REVOCATIONS
19. Transitional provisions
20. Revocations
SCHEDULES
Schedule 1—Forms for use in connection with compulsory admission to hospital, guardianship and consent to treatment.
Schedule 2—Revocations.
The Secretary of State for Social Services, in exercise of the powers conferred upon him by sections 9, 19(1) and (4), 32(1) and (2), 57(1)(b), 58(1)(a), 64(2) and 134(8) of and paragraph 41 of Schedule 5 to the Mental Health Act 1983(a) and of all other powers conferred upon him, after consultation with such bodies as appear to him to be concerned (b), hereby makes the following regulations:—
PART I
GENERAL
Citation and commencement
1. These regulations may be cited as the Mental Health (Hospital, Guardianship and Consent to Treatment) Regulations 1983 and shall come into operation on 30th September 1983.
Interpretation
2.—(1) In these regulations, unless the context otherwise requires—
"the Act" means the Mental Health Act 1983;
(a) 1983 c. 20.
(b) See the Mental Health Act 1983, ss.57(4) and 58(5).
"appropriate medical officer" has the same meaning as in section 16(5) of the Act;
"the Commission" means the Mental Health Act Commission;
"document" means any application, recommendation, record, report, order, notice or other document;
"private guardian", in relation to a patient, means a person, other than a local social services authority, who acts as guardian under the Act;
"served", in relation to a document, includes addressed, delivered, given, forwarded, furnished or sent.
(2) Except insofar as the context otherwise requires, any reference in these regulations to—
(a) a numbered section is to the section of the Act bearing that number;
(b) a numbered regulation or Schedule is to the regulation in or Schedule to these regulations bearing that number and any reference in a regulation to a numbered paragraph is a reference to the paragraph of that regulation bearing that number;
(c) a numbered form is a reference to the form in Schedule 1 bearing that number.
Documents
3.—(1) Except in a case to which paragraph (2) or (3) applies, any document required or authorised to be served upon any authority, body or person by or under Part II of the Act (compulsory admission to hospital or guardianship) or these regulations may be served—
(a) by delivering it to the authority, body or persons upon whom it is to be served, or upon any person authorised by that authority, body or person to receive it; or
(b) by sending it by prepaid post addressed to the authority or body at their registered or principal office or to the person upon whom it is to be served at his usual or last known residence.
(2) Any application for the admission of a patient to a hospital under Part II of the Act shall be served by delivering the application to an officer of the managers of the hospital, to which it is proposed that the patient shall be admitted, authorised by them to receive it.
(3) Any order by the nearest relative of the patient under section 23 for the discharge of a patient who is liable to be detained under Part II of the Act, and the notice of such order given under section 25(1), shall be served either by delivery of the order or notice at that hospital to an officer of the managers authorised by them to receive it or by sending it by prepaid post to those managers at that hospital.
(4) Subject to sections 6(3) and 8(3) (proof of applications), any document required or authorised by or under Part II of the Act or these regulations and purporting to be signed by a person required or authorised by or under that Part II or these regulations to do so shall be received in evidence and be deemed to be such a document without further proof, unless the contrary is shown.
(5) Any document required to be addressed to the managers of a hospital in accordance with the Act or these regulations shall be deemed to be properly addressed to such managers if addressed to the administrator of that hospital.
(6) Where under these regulations a local social services authority or the managers of a hospital are required to make any record or report, that function may be performed by an officer authorised by that authority or those managers in that behalf.
PART II
PROCEDURES AND RECORDS RELATING TO HOSPITAL ADMISSIONS AND GUARDIANSHIP
Procedure for and record of hospital admissions
4.—(1) For the purposes of admission to hospital under Part II of the Act—
(a) any application for admission for assessment under section 2 shall be in the form set out—
(i) where made by the nearest relative, in Form 1,
(ii) where made by an approved social worker, in Form 2;
(b) any medical recommendation for the purposes of section 2 shall be in the form set out—
(i) in the case of joint recommendations, in Form 3,
(ii) in any other case, in Form 4;
(c) any emergency application under section 4 shall be in the form set out—
(i) where made by the nearest relative, in Form 5,
(ii) where made by an approved social worker, in Form 6;
(d) any medical recommendation for the purposes of section 4 shall be in the form set out in Form 7;
(e) any application for admission for treatment under section 3 shall be in the form set out—
(i) where made by the nearest relative, in Form 8,
(ii) where made by an approved social worker, in Form 9;
(f) any medical recommendation for the purposes of section 3 shall be in the form set out—
(i) in the case of joint recommendations, in Form 10,
(ii) in any other case, in Form 11;
(g) any report made under subsection (2) of section 5 (detention of patient already in hospital for 72 hours) by the registered medical practitioner in charge of the treatment of the patient shall be in the form set out in Form 12;
(h) any record made under subsection (4) of section 5 (power to detain an in-patient for a maximum of 6 hours) by a nurse of the class for the time being prescribed for the purposes of that subsection shall be in the form set out in Form 13.
(2) For the purposes of section 15 (rectification of applications and recommendations), the managers of the hospital to which a patient has been admitted in pursuance of an application for assessment or for treatment may authorise in writing an officer or class of officers on their behalf—
(a) to consent under subsection (1) of that section to the amendment of the application or any medical recommendation given for the purposes of the application;
(b) to consider the sufficiency of a medical recommendation and, if the recommendation is considered insufficient, to give written notice as required by subsection (2) of that section,
and the managers of a mental nursing home, if two or more in number, may authorise one of their number to exercise the functions mentioned in sub-paragraphs (a) and (b).
(3) Where a patient has been admitted to a hospital pursuant to an application under section 2, 3 or 4, or detained pursuant to a report under section 5(2), a record of admission shall be made by the managers of that hospital in the form set out in Form 14 and shall be attached to the application or, as the case may be, report.
(4) A record of the receipt of any recommendation for the purposes of section 4, and any joint recommendation or, as the case may be, the second medical recommendation shall be made by the managers of the hospital to which the patient is to be admitted in the form set out in Form 15 and shall be attached to the recommendation.
(5) The time at which a patient ceased to be detained under subsection (4) of section 5 or the arrival, if earlier, of the registered medical practitioner having power to furnish a report under subsection (2) of section 5 shall be recorded either by the nurse who made the record required by the said subsection (4) or by another nurse of the class prescribed under that subsection, and authorised by the managers in that behalf, in the form set out in Form 16.
Procedure for and acceptance of guardianship applications
5.—(1) For the purposes of section 7 (application for guardianship)—
(a) an application for guardianship shall be in the form set out—
(i) where made by the nearest relative, in Part I of Form 17,
(ii) where made by an approved social worker, in Part I of Form 18;
(b) where a person other than a local social services authority is named as guardian, the statement by that person that he is willing to act shall be in the form set out in Part II of Form 17 or, as the case may be, 18;
(c) any medical recommendation shall be in the form set out—
(i) in the case of a joint recommendation, in Form 19,
(ii) in any other case, in Form 20.
(2) A local social services authority may authorise in writing an officer or class of officers on behalf of the authority to consent under section 8(4) to any amendment of any guardianship application which the authority has accepted or any...
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