If you have serious concerns about your relative’s mental health
In some circumstances your or your relative’s mental health issues may become so serious that an assessment under the Mental Health Act 1983 is required.
The Mental Health Act 1983 (MHA) provides for a Mental Health Act assessment to be carried out on individuals to establish whether they may be detained under the Act for assessment, care and treatment.
This is a formal assessment process and will usually be required when a person’s mental health becomes so severe that they are deemed to be a risk to themselves or other people. Admission to hospital under the Mental Healt5h Act 1983 is also referred to as ‘detention’.
When deciding whether it is necessary to detain patients, doctors and Approved Mental Health Professionals must always consider the alternative ways of providing the treatment or care they need.
They should always consider whether there are less restrictive alternatives to detention under the MHA, which may include:
- informal admission to hospital of a patient based on that person’s consent
- management in the community – for example,. by a crisis and support team, in a crisis house
Application for detention
For a patient to be detained in hospital for assessment or treatment under the Mental Health Act, an application for admission to hospital must be made to the managers of the hospital in question.
An application for detention may only be made where the grounds in either section 2 or section 3 of the Act are met.
An application may be made by:
- the patient’s nearest relative, or
- an Approved Mental Health Professional (AMHP) acting on behalf of the Local Authority (LA).
Though a nearest relative can make an application, it will normally be made by an Approved Mental Health Professional (AMHP).
An AMHP is usually a more appropriate applicant than a patient’s nearest relative, because of their professional training and knowledge of the legislation and local resources. This also removes the risk that an application by the nearest relative might have an adverse effect on their relationship with the patient.
LAs must arrange for an AMHP to consider a patient’s case on their behalf, if they have reason to believe that an application for admission to hospital may need to be made in respect of a person.
LAs must also arrange for an AMHP to consider the case of a patient who lives in their area if required to do so by the patient’s nearest relative.
If AMHPs decide not to make an application in these cases, they must give the nearest relative their reasons in writing.
In some cases, a nearest relative may approach doctors directly about the possibility of an application being made. In these cases they should advise the nearest relative of their right to require an LA to arrange for an AMHP to consider the patient’s case.
Page last updated: 16 June 2023
