Hi all, wondering, when as a psychiatrist and in tribunals I am asked if the power of recall is necessary, is the ‘soft power’ that it encourages the patient to take their medication, sufficient? Or does the power of recall being necessary also always require that I argue that the relapse is sufficiently quick or risky to warrant this rather than using the MHA? (though in practice I do not think CTO recalls in my area lead to faster admissions). In reality I think that it is only really effective for those patients who are only compelled to take their medications because they are on the CTO. (And for those patients who relapse quickly or have high risks, then could the MHA not be used earlier, basing it on ‘nature’ rather than just degree?)
My experience is that the power of recall is nearly always required when, with a CTO, it is likely that the patient will stop medication when in the community.
I was discussing this with a student yesterday. As an AMHP, I like to remind our psychiatrist that firstly, the eligibility criteria needs to be met (obviously), and that the risk arising from their mental disorder is “sufficiently serious” to warrant the use of a CTO. Although the risk of a deterioration is an important consideration it isn’t sufficient to warrant such a restrictive measure by itself. So, give some additional thought to the protection of others and risk of harm to health or safety. After all, who knows the state on bed availability at time of potential recall!