Mental Health Act 20266
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Transfer of involuntarily admitted person to Central Mental Hospital | ||
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35. (1) Where the clinical director of a registered acute mental health centre is of the opinion that— | ||
(a) it would be for the benefit of an involuntarily admitted person to be transferred to the Central Mental Hospital, or | ||
(b) it is necessary for the purpose of obtaining special treatment, the details of which shall be specified in writing, for the involuntarily admitted person to be transferred to the Central Mental Hospital, | ||
he or she shall send a proposal for the transfer of the involuntarily admitted person concerned to that hospital (in this section referred to as a “proposal”) to the Commission. | ||
(2) Where the clinical director sends a proposal to the Commission under subsection (1), he or she shall also notify the clinical director of the Central Mental Hospital that a proposal has been sent to the Commission in respect of the person, the subject of the proposal concerned. | ||
(3) A proposal under subsection (1) shall be made in the form and manner specified by the Commission and shall specify the reasons for the proposed transfer of the person concerned. | ||
(4) Where the Commission receives a proposal, the Commission shall— | ||
(a) refer the proposal to a review board, | ||
(b) set the time and date for the review to be heard in accordance with subsection (9), and | ||
(c) direct in writing (referred to in this section as a “direction”) an independent consultant psychiatrist from the panel of independent consultant psychiatrists to— | ||
(i) examine the person concerned, the subject of the proposal, | ||
(ii) interview the responsible consultant psychiatrist and another mental healthcare professional (other than a consultant psychiatrist) who is involved in the care and treatment of the person, and | ||
(iii) review the medical records relating to the person, | ||
in order to determine whether the transfer of the person, the subject of the proposal, to the Central Mental Hospital should proceed. | ||
(5) In so far as possible, the independent consultant psychiatrist directed under subsection (4) to examine a person, the subject of a proposal, shall be a forensic consultant psychiatrist. | ||
(6) An independent consultant psychiatrist directed under subsection (4)(c) shall submit a report in the form specified by the Commission on the results of the examination under subparagraph (i), the interviews under subparagraph (ii) and the review under subparagraph (iii) of that subsection to the Commission, and to the review board to which the matter has been referred not less than 3 working days prior to the date of the review board hearing. | ||
(7) The Commission shall provide a copy of the report referred to in subsection (6) to the legal representative of the person concerned as soon as may be prior to the review board hearing. | ||
(8) If the independent consultant psychiatrist to whom a direction has been given under subsection (4)(c) is unable to fulfil the direction, he or she shall so notify the Commission in writing and the Commission shall give a direction to another member of the panel of independent consultant psychiatrists. | ||
(9) A review board which has received a proposal under subsection (4) and a report under subsection (6), shall review the proposal and report as soon as may be but not later than 14 days after receipt of the proposal and shall— | ||
(a) if it is satisfied that the proposed transfer would be for the benefit of the involuntarily admitted person or that it is necessary for the purpose of obtaining special treatment for the admitted person concerned, authorise the transfer of the admitted person concerned, or | ||
(b) if it is not so satisfied, refuse to authorise the transfer. | ||
(10) The provisions of sections 28 , 29 , 30 and 32 , where applicable, shall apply to the referral of a proposal to a review board under this section as they apply to the referral of an involuntary admission order to a review board with any necessary modifications. | ||
(11) Effect shall not be given to a decision to which subsection (9) applies before— | ||
(a) the expiration of the time for the bringing of an appeal to the Circuit Court, or | ||
(b) if such an appeal is brought, the determination or withdrawal thereof. | ||
(12) Where an involuntarily admitted person is transferred to the Central Mental Hospital under this section, the clinical director of the registered acute mental health centre from which he or she has been transferred shall give notice in writing of the transfer to the Commission within 24 hours of the transfer having taken place. | ||
(13) The detention of an involuntarily admitted person in the Central Mental Hospital under this section shall be deemed for the purposes of this Act to be detention in the registered acute mental health centre from which he or she has been transferred. | ||
(14) A person’s detention in the Central Mental Hospital may continue | ||
until— | ||
(a) the expiry of the order detaining the person, or | ||
(b) the expiry of any subsequent renewal order where, in advance of the making of the renewal order concerned— | ||
(i) the clinical director of the registered acute mental health centre from which the person was transferred approves a further period of detention, and | ||
(ii) the clinical director of the Central Mental Hospital has consented in writing to the further detention. | ||
(15) An approval under subparagraph (i) of subsection (14)(b) and a consent under subparagraph (ii) of that subsection shall be valid until the expiry of the order detaining the person and thereafter for each period of a renewal order, if, in respect of each period, the necessary approval and consent is obtained under subsection (14) in respect of the involuntarily admitted person concerned. | ||
(16) A report shall be provided by the clinical director of the Central Mental Hospital to the Commission every 3 months regarding the status of the persons detained in the Central Mental Hospital under this Act and the status of all of the pending applications for transfer under this section to the Central Mental Hospital. | ||
(17) The Commission shall prepare and publish a code of practice in relation to this section. | ||
(18) In this section, “forensic consultant psychiatrist” means a consultant psychiatrist who has not less than 3 years postgraduate training certified by the College of Psychiatrists of Ireland in forensic psychiatry. |