You Don’t Have To Be Mad, But It Helps

Cynics Guide To The Mental Health Act : 2 : How To Get Sectioned

Hello again. I believe the American equivalent of sectioning is being certified. Or at least that’s what television teaches me. Being sectioned allows for a mixture of the following:

1. Being detained in a psychiatric hospital
2. Being compelled to accept psychiatric treatment

I will only be touching upon the basic sections. I have very limited experience with community orders or criminal sections. The choices between sectioned and not sectioned lead to three types of patient.

Just the same as any patient in any hospital. Apparently has all the same rights and responsibilities as anybody else.

Patient Rights In England

Draft Consultation For Patient Rights In Scotland

Apparently if you are as mad as a sackful of rats you are allowed to be abusive and violent towards staff.

Violent patients

If you are violent and/or abusive to NHS staff, you may be refused NHS hospital treatment, or given a verbal or written warning before treatment is withheld or withdrawn. Violent or abusive behaviour could include verbal abuse, threats, violence, drug or alcohol abuse in hospital, and destruction of property. Each NHS trust can decide which types of behaviour could lead to treatment being withheld or withdrawn and how such policies are implemented. However, treatment cannot be withdrawn for more than twelve months. If you are violent and/or abusive to NHS staff and have severe mental health problems or are suffering life-threatening conditions, you will not be denied treatment.

Should there not be a proviso about violence and aggression being due to mental health problems ? As already stated in my Trust you just have to know a patient to get away with physical aggression.

People detained under a section of a mental health act.

Officially don’t exist. Boils down to someone who is a voluntary patient as long as they don’t try to leave.

Example: Doris in this case is well known to the service and has a history of depressed spells and fairly serious suicide attempts. As opposed to funny suicide attempts.

Mental: Hello Doris, thank you for agreeing to come into hospital as a voluntary patient. You’ve done the right thing. We’ll keep you safe while you are suffering from your depressive episode.

Doris: Thank you Mental. You are such a super nurse !

Mental: Thank you Doris. You are super too. Let me give you a tour of the ward … the doors are left unlocked, except at night, and when someone tries to do a runner. There’ll be a notice up on the door. If you want to leave please speak to one of the nurses.

Doris: I thought I was a voluntary patient ?

Mental: Yes you are, and super !

Doris: So why do I need to speak to a member of staff ?

I’ll divert a bit here. In some places nurses are allowed to do their jobs and assess if a person is safe to leave the hospital or not, after all that is why we are trained and have a nurses holding power (england, scotland). In some, more paranoid, trusts nurses will (can ?) only use their holding power when a doctor says someone is detainable.

Back to the example. Initially we try to avoid talking about the mental health act.

Mental: Fire Regulations, Health and Safety, Update bed board

The above may well be true.

Doris: So what if I do this and want to leave ?

Mental: We’ll ask you to wait so we can have you assessed by the doctor, and let him see how super you are ?

Doris: What will happen if I just try to walk out the door you prat ?

Mental: We might have to detain you. *sheepish look*

Doris: So I am voluntary unless I try to leave ?

Mental: No !

Doris: *stern look*

Mental: *sheepish* yes.

Doris: Why would you detain me ?

Mental: For assessment.

Doris: How would you assess if I was detainable you poltroon ?

Mental: Telepathy … ?

You get the idea.

Sorry didn’t actually get as far as how to get sectioned. I will do it in the next entry. I promise. Honest.