Mental Health Act 20266

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Provision of information to persons involuntarily admitted to registered acute mental health centre

24. (1) The responsible consultant psychiatrist shall, as soon as is practicable but not later than 24 hours after the making of an involuntary admission order or any subsequent renewal order in respect of an involuntarily admitted person, give or cause to be given to the involuntarily admitted person concerned a copy of the involuntary admission order or renewal order, as the case may be.

(2) The responsible consultant psychiatrist shall, as soon as practicable after making the involuntary admission order and any subsequent renewal order, give or cause to be given to the person who is the subject of the involuntary admission order or renewal order, as the case may be, a notice in writing of the making of the order concerned.

(3) A notice under subsection (2) shall include a statement in writing and in a form and language that may reasonably be understood by the involuntarily admitted person concerned, to the effect that he or she—

(a) is entitled to legal representation,

(b) will be given a general description of the proposed care and treatment to be administered to him or her during the period of involuntary admission,

(c) is entitled to receive information on any aspect of his or her proposed care and treatment at any time during the period of involuntary admission,

(d) will be provided with an explanatory note on the guiding principles in relation to all decisions regarding his or her care and treatment,

(e) subject to the provisions of Chapter 3, is entitled to consent to or refuse treatment during the period of involuntary admission, where he or she has capacity to make such decisions,

(f) is informed of the complaints procedure for the registered acute mental health centre and of his or her entitlement to bring a complaint under that procedure,

(g) is informed of any relevant advocacy services,

(h) is entitled to communicate with the Chief Inspector,

(i) will have his or her involuntary admission reviewed by a review board in accordance with section 31 ,

(j) is entitled to appeal to the Circuit Court against a decision of a review board under section 32 ,

(k) is entitled to make an application under section 33 to be transferred to another registered acute mental health centre,

(l) may be admitted to the registered acute mental health centre concerned as a voluntarily admitted person if he or she indicates a wish to be so admitted,

(m) is entitled to discuss discharge planning with a member of his or her multidisciplinary team, and

(n) is entitled to have a nominated person accompany him or her to meetings and to consult with him or her on decisions regarding the proposed care and treatment to be administered during the period of involuntary admission.

(4) A nominated person under subsection (3)(n) shall be entitled to—

(a) receive a copy of the notice given under subsection (2),

(b) receive any information subsequently provided under paragraph (b), (c) or (d) of subsection (3), and

(c) accompany the involuntarily admitted person to meetings and consult with him or her on decisions regarding the proposed care and treatment to be administered during the period of involuntary admission.

(5) A notice given under subsection (2) and any information subsequently provided under paragraph (b), (c) or (d) of subsection (3) shall be in a form and language that the person in receipt of the information can understand.

(6) Where the involuntarily admitted person has an enduring power of attorney (within the meaning of the Act of 2015) or a relevant, valid decision-making representative is for the time being in place, any information provided to the person under this section shall also be given to any person empowered by law to give consent, make a decision or exercise a legal power on behalf of the person.