Mental Health Act Manual

The 20th edition of the Mental Health Act Manual is an essential guide to the Mental Health Act 1983. A crucial insight tool for any professional working in mental health law, this specialist work reproduces the Act and its associated Rules and Regulations with annotations by Richard Jones. Key developments incorporated in the 20th edition are: Case Law Secretary of State for Justice v MM; Welsh Ministers v PJ where the Court of Appeal held that that (1) the Act does not provide a power in the tribunal to impose conditions on a conditional discharge that extend to the imposition of a deprivation of liberty of a patient's liberty; and (2) a responsible clinician has the power to attach a condition to a community treatment order which constitutes a deprivation of the patient's liberty. Djaba v West London Mental Health Trust where the Court of Appeal held that a tribunal has no power to conduct a proportionality assessment pursuant to arts.5 and/or 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights taking into account the conditions of the patient's detention. Tinsley v Manchester City Council where it was held that a local authority may not have regard to the patient's ability to fund the cost of after-care services from damages awarded to him in his claim for personal injuries when determining whether or not to provide after-care services under s.117. PI v West London Mental Health NHS Trust where the Upper Tribunal considered how a tribunal should react when, during the course of a tribunal hearing, it appeared that the patient no longer had capacity to appoint or instruct his solicitor. R (on the application of Ferreira) v HM Senior Coroner for Inner South London where the Court of Appeal held that a patient in a general hospital was not deprived of her liberty because she was being treated for a physical illness and her treatment was that which would have been administered to a person who did not have her mental impairment. R. (on the application of OK) v First-tier Tribunal on the need for the Secretary of State to make a reference to the tribunal under s.67(1) where a tribunal, which is considering an application made by a solicitor on behalf of the patient, finds that the patient lacked the mental capacity to authorise another person to act on his behalf. LB v BMH where the Upper Tribunal held that the evidence placed before a tribunal should not be confined to justifying the patient's detention. It should also deal with the suitability of the regime that the patient is subject to as such information would be required if the patient's solicitor was minded to attempt to persuade the tribunal to recommend a transfer under s.72(3). Legislation Major amendments have been made to sections 135 and 136 of the Act and three new sections have been inserted by the Policing and Crime Act 2017. Guidance Legal Aid Agency guidance on "Tribunal Appointed Representatives in Mental Health ('Rule 11(7) Cases')" is reproduced.