Continuing the discussion from How do we help our brother as a Nearest Relative?:
Perhaps worth noting that in relation to the NR power of discharge, the page on that link acknowledges that “the term hospital managers is confusing terminology” which is right. However, it then backs up that acknowledgment by incorrectly describing the meaning of the term!
What’s the incorrection description of the meaning of the term? Explain to assist everyone. Thanks
Happy to, although I doubt that it will “assist everyone” as a large proportion of the people who clicked on the link may already know. Anyway this is the erroneous paragraph:
This notice must be delivered to the “hospital managers”. This term has a specific legal meaning in the Act:
It does not mean the day-to-day hospital operational managers.
The term “hospital managers” is a confusing terminology even for some people working in psychiatric services. They are a panel of people who are not themselves managers of the hospital or even employees.
Whilst the notice must be delivered to the hospital managers and this term does have a specific legal meaning, they are not “a panel of people who are not themselves managers of the hospital or even employees”. The statement appears to be describing the people who may exercise the power of discharge on behalf of the managers, as set out in section 23 and see specifically, subsections (4), (5) and (6).
The legal meaning of the managers is found in section 145 of the Act, according to the type of hospital. For the NHS in England, this generally means the relevant Trust.
Using a Trust as an example, by default this means the people who run/manage the organisation and it is the policies they produce, that dictate who has operational responsibility for ensuring that all the various powers and duties of the managers under the MHA, are carried out correctly (chapter 37 of the Code of Practice for England will assist you).
This includes how the nearest relative’s power of discharge is managed, but the process, including how and to whom the discharge notice is submitted, does not include the involvement of a ‘panel of non-employees’, unless and until a decision is subsequently made by the operational staff, that a review of compulsory powers is indicated as a result of the RC barring report.
The responsibilities in relation to the managers power of discharge will usually be set out in a stand-alone policy and chapter 38 of the Code assists with that.
I see. How can this be simplified into an explanation for ordinary peeps to understand.
I had a go at trying to explain it as simply as possible a few years ago and came up with:
It is the ‘hospital managers’ who ultimately hold the power to detain patients in their hospital. ‘The hospital managers’ actually means:
• for an NHS trust- the trust
• for an NHS Foundation trust- the board
• for an independent hospital- the person(s) registered with CQC relating to the assessment and treatment of mental disorder.
Hospital managers have various powers and duties, and they delegate these to specific members of staff via a ‘scheme of delegation.’ Nurses accepting a detained patent onto a ward on the basis of an application from an AMHP, for example, are carrying out that function because it will have been delegated to them by the hospital managers. The ’hospital managers’ panels’ which sit to review a patient’s detention are not ‘managers’ themselves, but people appointed by the hospital managers to carry out this function.