Mental Heath Act

March 2018 | by EMauthor


The most relevant sections of the Mental Health Act to ED practice are summarised below:


Section 2


Compulsory admission to hospital for assessment and/or treatment.

Duration 28 days

Application made by Approved Social Worker plus two Docs


Section 3


Compulsory admission to hospital for treatment.

Duration 6 months

Application made by Approved Social Worker plus two Docs


Section 5


Emergency holding powers for admitted patients (not ED patients).

Section 5 (2)—doctors holding power

It does not permit treatment except in urgent situations.

Duration 72 h

One Doctor


Section 136


Place of Safety order in public

The patient can be taken to, and kept in, a ‘place of safety’

Duration 72 h

Application by any police officer

What constitutes a ‘place of safety’ is agreed locally and may vary.

Many EDs are specifically not ‘places of safety’

Once a pt has been taken to a particular POS they cannot be transferred to another.


 Pearls and pitfalls:  the only section that is legally applicable in an ED is section 136.  Therefore the only way to ‘section’ a patient in the is by asking the police to implement a section 136 which is nearly impossible.  In CDU (or any ward) a section 5:2 can be applied.



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