Mental Health Act 20266
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Making of application for recommendation for involuntary admission to be made by authorised officer | ||
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13. (1) Where an authorised officer receives a request in that behalf under section 12 (1) for an application for a recommendation for involuntary admission, the authorised officer shall, as soon as practicable following receipt of such a request, assess whether to make an application to a registered medical practitioner for a recommendation for involuntary admission (in this Part referred to as an “application for a recommendation for involuntary admission”), and, for that purpose, shall— | ||
(a) meet with, speak to and observe the person who is the subject of the request, | ||
(b) consult, where possible and appropriate, with that person’s spouse, relative or carer, as the case may be, and | ||
(c) take account of whether the care and treatment required to be given to the person can be given other than in a registered acute mental health centre, with a view to ensuring an application for a recommendation for involuntary admission is made only where necessary and appropriate. | ||
(2) In considering a request for an application for a recommendation for involuntary admission, an authorised officer shall request such information on the circumstances and medical history of the person, the subject of the request, as the authorised officer may reasonably require from the requester, and where he or she does so, that requester shall, to the best of his or her ability, comply with such a request. | ||
(3) Where, following an assessment under subsection (1), an authorised officer has reasonable grounds for believing that the person, the subject of the request, has a mental disorder which fulfils the criteria for involuntary admission, the authorised officer shall make an application for a recommendation for involuntary admission, and shall provide a copy of that application to the person concerned. | ||
(4) Where an application for a recommendation for involuntary admission is made, the application shall contain a statement of the reasons why the authorised officer considers that the criteria for involuntary admission have been fulfilled, and the circumstances in which the application is made. | ||
(5) Where an authorised officer does not have reasonable grounds for believing that the person has a mental disorder which fulfils the criteria for involuntary admission, the authorised officer shall refuse to make an application for a recommendation for involuntary admission. | ||
(6) Where an authorised officer refuses to make an application for a recommendation for involuntary admission under subsection (5), the authorised officer shall inform in writing the requester and the person, the subject of the request— | ||
(a) of that decision and the reasons for it, and | ||
(b) that the requester may, subject to subsection (10), request another authorised officer to consider the request, the subject of the refusal, or, as the case may be, make a new request for an application for a recommendation for involuntary admission to another authorised officer under section 12 . | ||
(7) Subject to subsection (10), the provisions of this section shall apply, with any necessary modifications, to the assessment of a request for an application for a recommendation for involuntary admission by an authorised officer following a refusal by an authorised officer to make such an application as they apply to the authorised officer who refused to make an application for a recommendation for involuntary admission. | ||
(8) In requesting another authorised officer to consider a request for an application for a recommendation for involuntary admission following the refusal of a previously appointed authorised officer to make such an application, and in any subsequent application to a registered medical practitioner, the requester shall comply with section 16 (1). | ||
(9) An authorised officer shall make an application for a recommendation for involuntary admission as soon as possible after an assessment under subsection (1) which application shall be valid for 7 days from the date of its making and shall then expire. | ||
(10) A person may make only one request under subsection (6)(b) in respect of the refusal concerned under subsection (5). | ||
(11) An authorised officer shall be disqualified from acting as an authorised officer in respect of a person, where the authorised officer— | ||
(a) has an interest in the payments (if any) to be made in respect of the taking care of the person concerned in the registered acute mental health centre concerned, | ||
(b) is a member of the governing body or staff of the registered acute mental health centre concerned, or | ||
(c) is a spouse or relative of the person concerned. | ||
(12) An authorised officer who, for the purposes of, or in relation to, an application for a recommendation for involuntary admission of a person, makes any statement which is to his or her knowledge false or misleading in any material particular shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a class A fine or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months, or to both. | ||
(13) An application for a recommendation for involuntary admission of a person made under this section shall be made in the form and manner specified by the Commission. | ||
(14) In subsection (1), “spouse”, in relation to a person, does not include a spouse who is living separately and apart from the person or a spouse in respect of whom— | ||
(a) an application for an order has been made but not yet determined under the Act of 2018, or | ||
(b) an order has been made under the Act of 2018. |