If someone is on a section 3 can the section be rescinded if the person has been AWOL for 6 weeks even though the section 3 has not expired and the person is still not well? Im being told that according to The Mental Health Act the section expires in this situation but I can’t find anywhere that states this in the Mental Health Act.
My understanding is that Section 18(4) sets a period of 6 months for the patient to be “re-taken” into custody if they’re AWOL. However, the Section 3 itself doesn’t expire until it reaches the end of the relevant period (happy for someone to correct me on this).
I believe the Section 3 can be rescinded in these circumstances. But even if the section has expired, what’s the drawback from an “invalid” administrative rescission?