Mental Health Act 20266
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Application to Family High Court for treatment order for child in certain circumstances | ||
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87. (1) Where treatment cannot be administered to an involuntarily admitted child because— | ||
(a) in the case of an involuntarily admitted child aged 16 years or older— | ||
(i) he or she has capacity to make decisions about his or her treatment but refuses to consent to the treatment concerned, or | ||
(ii) where he or she has been assessed as lacking necessary capacity under section 61 — | ||
(I) his or her parents or guardian or the Agency refuse or refuses to consent to the treatment concerned, or | ||
(II) other than where the child is the subject of a care order, his or her parents, or either of them, or guardian, after the making of reasonable enquiries, cannot be found, | ||
or | ||
(b) in the case of an involuntarily admitted child under 16 years of age— | ||
(i) his or her parents or guardian or the Agency refuse or refuses to consent to the treatment concerned, or | ||
(ii) other than where the child is the subject of a care order, his or her parents, or either of them, or guardian, after the making of reasonable enquiries, cannot be found, | ||
an application may be made by the Executive to the Family High Court specifying the proposed treatment and seeking an order to administer the treatment concerned to the involuntarily admitted child (in this section referred to as a “treatment order”) where all of the relevant criteria in subsection (2) apply. | ||
(2) The relevant criteria for the purpose of a treatment order are as follows: | ||
(a) the treatment concerned is— | ||
(i) immediately necessary for the protection of life of the child or another person or persons, or | ||
(ii) necessary for protection from an immediate and serious threat to the health of the child or another person or persons; | ||
(b) the involuntarily admitted child requires the treatment concerned; | ||
(c) there is no alternative safe and effective treatment available; | ||
(d) it is likely that the condition of the involuntarily admitted child will materially benefit from the treatment concerned. | ||
(3) A refusal to consent to treatment referred to in subsection (1) may be withdrawn at any time, and any application made to the Family High Court under that subsection may be withdrawn, where— | ||
(a) an involuntarily admitted child aged 16 years or older has capacity and decides to withdraw his or her refusal and to now consent to treatment concerned, or | ||
(b) in the case of an involuntarily admitted child aged 16 years or older assessed as lacking capacity under section 61 or an involuntarily admitted child under 16 years of age, his or her parents or guardian or the Agency withdraws the refusal to consent to the treatment concerned and now consents to the treatment. | ||
(4) Where an application is made to the Family High Court under subsection (1), the Executive shall immediately notify— | ||
(a) the guardian ad litem appointed for the child, and | ||
(b) the child’s relevant notified carers, | ||
of the making of the application and any treatment provided under subsection (7). | ||
(5) Where an application for a treatment order under subsection (1) is before the Family High Court, the Court may, pending its determination of the application, of its own motion or on the application of any person, give such interim directions as it sees fit as to the care and treatment of the involuntarily admitted child who is the subject of the application but any such direction shall cease to have effect immediately on the determination by the Court of the application before it. | ||
(6) An application may be made by the Executive to the Family High Court to renew a treatment order made under this section, subject to any directions of the Court, where the grounds in paragraph (a) or (b) of subsection (1) and the relevant criteria in subsection (2) continue to apply. | ||
(7) Where an application to the Family High Court has been made under subsection (1) or (6) in relation to an involuntarily admitted child under 16 years of age or an involuntarily admitted child aged 16 years or older who has been assessed as lacking capacity under section 61 , treatment may be administered to the involuntarily admitted child prior to the hearing of the application, for a period of 72 hours after its initiation or until the hearing of the application by the Family High Court, whichever is sooner, where, in the opinion of the responsible consultant psychiatrist, the grounds in paragraph (a) or (b) of subsection (1) and the relevant criteria in subsection (2) continue to apply. | ||
(8) Where treatment is administered to a child without consent pursuant to a treatment order under subsection (1) or prior to the hearing of the application under subsection (7), the absence of consent and details of the treatment or treatments shall be noted in his or her medical records. | ||
(9) A treatment order shall, subject to any directions of the Family High Court, have effect for a period not exceeding 3 months. | ||
(10) An application to the Family High Court shall be deemed to be withdrawn where the involuntarily admitted child concerned is no longer subject to an involuntary admission order or a renewal order. | ||
(11) Where, in the case of— | ||
(a) a voluntarily admitted child under 16 years of age, or | ||
(b) a child aged 16 years or older lacking necessary capacity admitted with parental consent, | ||
the responsible consultant psychiatrist and the child’s parents or guardian or the Agency agree that it would be detrimental to the relationship between the child and his or her parents or guardian or the Agency for that person or persons to consent to or refuse treatment, and, in the opinion of the responsible consultant psychiatrist, the criteria specified in paragraphs (a), (b) and (d) of subsection (2) apply (with the modification that a reference to an involuntarily admitted child shall be construed as a reference to the child concerned), an application for a treatment order may be made under this section with all necessary modifications. | ||
(12) Where treatment is administered to a child without consent pursuant to a treatment order, the absence of consent and details of the treatment or treatments shall be noted in his or her medical records. |