Ground leave vs community leave for s17 purposes

Law and practice Mental Health Act
1

Continuing the discussion from "Supervised conditional discharge":

Likewise there is still the MOJ position as of late last year where ‘Ground leave’ is seen as ‘not community leave’ even when for some hospitals there is no clear marker to delineate ground from community - nor any barrier to contain ‘a patient’ from getting out into the community.

2

I don’t think this is a new thing. It’s only community leave that comes within s17 and so would need MOJ approval (unless this applies: Power to specify hospital units - Mental Health Law Online). What was your experience last year? The psychiatric hospital buildings at Ealing are on the same site as a general hospital. Was it something like that?

3

Of course it’s not a new thing. I saw it - so knew it from at least 1997.

Last year I had conversations with the ‘powers’. They just repeated the same yarn from around 2000.

Some believe that ‘logic dictates’ - they are the losers. Logic does not dictate in the NHS or any other emanation of government. Power dictates - the power to:

  1. Disobey your own rules - as I have proved beyond reasonable doubt of the CQC (in the public domain).
  2. Remain silent: not give reasons unless forced to by a court of law. [Individuals and organisations]
  3. Not change: until force of public pressure and the law come to bear, unbearably.
  4. Apologise for acts of irreversible harm.
  5. Allow and perpetuate a ‘plane load’ of people to die needlessly in A&E departments over the last year at least (Who said this? Google may be of assistance- you may be surprised).

The above is about ‘force’ in broad terms. This isn’t ‘disconnected’ from the captioned issue. Why? Because it is a conspicuous thread in British culture.

So wake up and smell the coffee - minor issues about ‘ground leave’ and boundaries etc is ‘nobody’s business’ at the top.

Those who which to learn more may find and study the book - Corruptible: Who Gets Power and How it Changes Us.

4

“What’s your point, caller?”

How should things be done differently in relation to leave?